Tony Umez Opens Up About Playing 'Woman Wrapper' in All His Movies

Nigerian actor Tony Umez is one of the most popular names and faces in Nollywood. Especially in the early 2000s - 2010s when Nollywood was on the come up, Tony was very well known in the industry as the man you call if you want a person that can convincingly play "bewitched", "mumu", or "woman wrapper" as his characters were often described.

These days, because of the dawn of social media and people bringing back old media to share and circulate, new memes and jokes about Tony Umez have started circulating again. His name is often associated with the characters he plays and so as a result, the jokes are often about him.

Speaking to Ebuka Obi-Uchendu about why he chose to play those characters and how he feels about the jokes made about him today, Tony Umez spoke very candidly. Here's what he said about both matters.

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Asking his question, Ebuka said: "You've become sort of an internet sensation all over again because of the fact that you were typecast so much back in the day to certain roles. You've almost become an adjective for the guy who women kind of "deal with". Do you see these things? And when you were being typecast a lot as the emotional, vulnerable guy - you know back in the day it may not have been normal, these days it's okay to cry, it's okay to be vulnerable - at the time, why were you taking these roles? And what do you think about the fact that these days you are the guy who is the poster person for that?"

Tony Umez responded saying:

Uhmm. First things first, when you're given a script and they tell you this is the character you're playing, you go through the script. If you like it, you do it. And of course money is always attached to it. It has to be a good script, then money. Sometimes I tell people after all said and done, to God be the glory. Some ends are contrived. I tell them if I'm playing Tony Umez, this isn't the way the thing would end. But of course I'm not playing me. I'm playing a character. And if you search far and near, you will know that there is somebody that fits into that mold so I am playing somebody who will understand that thing. And I'm trying to tell the viewers that whether you like it or not, there are people like this. You can't take it away. But the script has to be good. The money has to be okay. So I wasn't too bothered about being typecast because even in Hollywood, you have typecasts.

"But do you see the memes and the jokes these days on social media?"

I see them. I enjoy some. I don't enjoy some. But they don't affect me. They don't affect me negatively. It's part of show business. So you need at some point in time to develop a thick skin and not let things bother you too much.

What do you think about Tony Umez's "woman wrapper" roles back in the day and what do you think of his responses today? Let me know what you think by leaving a comment either below or on my Jide Okonjo Facebook post.

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