Veteran Nollywood actor, Emmanuel France is dead. The news of the 84-year-old’s death was announced by his colleague and filmmaker, Olufemi Ogedengbe, on his Instagram page on Monday.
“Rest in peace to one of Nollywood legends uncle Emmanuel France, One of the actors I took to Tanzania in 2006, Shot three movies with him: Cross MY Sin, She Is My Sister & THE Director,” his post read.
The cause of his death remains unknown.
Emmanuel France was known for his roles in Domitilla (1996) and The Curfew (2021). Born in Kano State, Nigeria, the veteran actor joined Nollywood in the 80s and was famous for the successful portrayal of witch doctor roles in movies.
Some of his other movie credits include Oganigwe, Narrow Escape, Witches, Silent Night, Exile and Silent Night. He was famous for the catchphrase ‘Tufancha’, which he repeatedly used in the movie, ‘Suicide Mission’.
The late actor’s nationality was a topic for debate, but in 2011, during an interview, he mentioned that he is a product of a united nation.
“I am not even a Ghanaian but a “Gold Coastian” because my grandparents came from the Gold Coast. They didn’t come from Ghana. I have a Nigerian Passport because I was born in Nigeria. I don’t have a Ghanaian Passport because I don’t reside there. I didn’t go to school in Ghana. Ghanaians don’t know me as theirs. Nigerians know me as a Ghanaian. Of course, that is what it is. I say it out loud because my parents come from there,” he said.
He began his professional career in Ghana, where he studied at the School of Journalism in Accra. He wrote his first script for a stage play in 1967 for the Catholic Church titled the “Mission of John the Baptist.”
After joining the Ghana Film Corporation in 1969, he shot his first film, ‘Market Day’. He also produced a documentary about road safety in Ghana, ‘No Time to Die’.
In a similar vein, he directed a movie funded by the Ghana Fishing Industry that brought him to Angola in 1974. After returning, he secured a position at the Ghana Broadcasting Organisation and wrote the script for one of the most popular soap operas in Ghana at the time, Osopurazi.
However, due to the economic downturn in Ghana, he returned to Nigeria.
Upon his arrival in Nigeria, he became a contract employee and scriptwriter at the Nigeria Television Authority.
He once mentioned that he stopped keeping track of the number of films he appeared in after acting in 373 productions, including television dramas, soap operas, and more.