Hollywood remains the world’s wealthiest film industry, contributing $49 billion to the US economy annually, according to a 2024 report on the size of its movie market.
It is a place where franchises move like blue-chip stocks, where opening weekends are measured in hundreds of millions, and where cultural dominance is as valuable as box office receipts. Yet inside this vast machinery of spectacle and profit, the Nigerian story has found an unlikely resonance.
Most of the actors carrying Nigeria’s name into Hollywood’s spotlight were born and raised in the United States or Britain, far from the streets of Lagos or Abuja. But heritage travels differently than geography. On-screen, their Nigerian roots carry weight in accents that slip through, in names that are unmistakably West African, and in interviews where they fold Nigerian slang into Hollywood polish.
These actors have stepped into billion-dollar franchises, led prestige dramas, and topped box office charts, proving that their presence is more than cosmetic diversity; it’s a cultural imprint.
What makes their rise compelling isn’t just personal ambition; it’s how each success weaves Nigeria into Hollywood’s fabric. These actors are making sure that when the credits roll on the world’s wealthiest film industry, Nigerian names are not buried in fine print. They are headliners, shaping stories watched globally.
Oluwunmi “Wunmi” Mosaku, a Nigerian-British actress, has established a strong presence in both international franchises and critically acclaimed films. She is known for her roles as Joy in the BBC Two miniseries Moses Jones and Holly Lawson in the ITV series Vera, and won the BAFTA TV Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance as Gloria Taylor in Damilola, Our Loved Boy.
- Mosaku starred as B-15 in Marvel’s Deadpool & Wolverine (2024), which grossed over $1.3 billion worldwide and became the highest-grossing R-rated film of all time. In Nigeria, the film achieved more than 142,000 admissions, grossing approximately N700 million.
- In 2025, Mosaku appeared as the hoodoo healer Annie in Ryan Coogler’s Sinners. The film opened with N79.6 million at the Nigerian box office and grossed N710 million after six weeks, according to Nairametrics.
- Globally, Sinners has generated approximately $366.7 million, with $278.6 million from domestic markets (U.S. and Canada) and $88.1 million from international markets. The New York Times described her performance as “the soulful core” of the film.
Mosaku’s other notable roles include Lovecraft Country (2020), His House (2020), We Own This City (2022), Passenger (since 2024), Alice, Darling (2022), and Scavengers Reign (2023).
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