Perhaps, he may not have believed his ears if a prophet told him that he would by one day, become a hot-cake in Ghana's movie industry.
Showing early interest in acting which eventually saw him into the Drama Club of the Mfantsipim School, where he schooled, he distinguished himself in a play staged by the school during Emancipation Day celebrations in Cape Coast. This won him the school's Best Actor award.
Today, he is not only considered as one of the best actors in Africa, but he nearly walked with the Best Actor in a Lead Role award at this year's Africa Movie Academy Awards (AMAA) ceremony. This is the story of light-skinned actor Majid Michell who, in the past five years, has risen to become a household movie name in demand in Africa.
With over thirty hit productions to boast of, movie pundits and critics see Majid as an emerging global movie star from Ghana, the first country south of the Sahara to wean itself of colonial domination.
The catalogue of films he has played chief roles in appears long, but the one which underscored his 'real' acting talent is Crime to Christ, released in 2007. Others are Divine Love (2004), Royal Battle (2005), Passion of the Soul (2005), Pretty Queen, The Playboy (2006), Agony of Christ (2008), Her Excellency, Sin of the Soul, Shakira, Gameboy, The Dons Of Sakawa and Friends In Love (all in 2009).
But, though most of his movies portray his versatility and all-roundness, others too raise critical issues about his perceived 'real' self and perhaps character. Fact is that, Majid executes feminine roles in movies as adeptly as he fits into priesthood.
Taking his roles in movies like Agony of Christ and Shirley Frimpong-Manso's A Sting in A Tale, for instance, Majid is, in one respect, seen as a Man-of-God and in another breath, a self-denying person who jumps to the rescue of his friends in needy.
Other films too portray him either as a scam, fraudster, Casanova, a ladies-man or a womaniser. For example, in his recent controversial production Heart of Men, Majid is nothing less than a womaniser.
Not only that, a greater part of his buttocks was captured on-screen, which became a topic for controversy upon the release of the film about a month ago. So, what is the 'real' character of Majid; a womaniser, Man-of-God or a fraudster? Well, for those who will be thinking of him as perhaps a bachelor, he is married with children.
He, according to some of his friends and colleagues in the movie industry, is 'responsible' and only approaches acting the Constantin Stanislavski way: approach a role as directly as possible, and then see if it lives.
Source: The Spectator
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