Nollywood actress and box-office queen Funke Akindele has opened up about the sacrifices she made for her latest movie, Behind The Scenes, which has grossed N2.7 billion.
While speaking with Bella Naija, she said she put herself very busy and gave her all. According to her, she abandoned herself for work, didn’t make her hair, didn’t attend parties, and didn’t go to people’s houses to greet them.
Akindele stressed that she was neck-deep in work, sacrificed her time for it, and now enjoys the fruits of her labour. The filmmaker added that it took her a lot of sacrifice, sleepless nights, forgetting to eat and giving her all.
“What I do differently to achieve this level of success is lots of work. When I say “a lot of work,” it means giving your all. I abandoned myself for work; I didn’t even make my hair, except when I am going on the red carpet or somewhere important. I don’t attend parties, I don’t go to greet people at home, I quit everything. I’m neck-deep in work; I sacrifice my time for it. It’s now that I am relaxed, feeling fresh, doing the skincare. It was a lot of sacrifice, sleepless nights, forgetting to eat, giving my all”.
While speaking with Bella Naija about dancing to promote her movie, Funke said nobody asked her to dance and noted that she does more than just dance. The box-office queen said people should stop belittling her work to just dancing, as she also does nails for people.
While speaking with Morayo Brown at Wema Bank International Women’s Day program, Funke spoke on the sacrifices she made to build her brand. She disclosed that she had to give up her social life, didn’t attend parties and locked herself up in her Estate for almost two years. She said her colleagues were mad at her, and called her a sadist, unaware that she was building her brand.
In an Instagram post, Akindele had shared some of the measures she took to actualise her dream. She said her journey didn’t start in a day; it took learning, praying, and choosing to re-strategise, re-evaluate, and re-execute.
In another post, she spoke about the pressures she faced in the industry, revealing that it didn’t break her but matured her. According to her, it taught her patience, discipline, and emotional control.
The National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB) had honoured the box office Queen in recognition of her record-breaking achievements.
Taking to her Instagram page, Funke said she was honoured and recognised for her hard work and consistency in the entertainment industry, and expressed her gratitude.
Funke had shattered records as her 2025 Cinema movie, Behind The Scenes, grossed N2,100,000,000 in a month. Expressing excitement, she credited her big win to God being in motion and expressed gratitude to Him.
Late last year, Akindele had celebrated 27 years in the movie industry. She noted how God’s favour and hard work have brought her this far, and revealed the key to achieving continuous success.
