Ghanaian actor, Van Vicker who has been off the Ghanaian movie scene for some years now has stated that if he was still very active in Ghana like he used to be some years back, there wouldn’t be new faces like Majid Michel, John Dumelo, Frank Atus and others who are now making waves in Ghallywood. He said his absence gave current stars like Majid and others the opportunity to shine.
The Liberian born Ghanaian screen actor said, this in an interview with Peacefmonline.com, during the launch of the second edition of the Ghana Movie Awards at Golden Tulip in Accra last Wednesday August 3, 2011. “If I had been in the picture all the time, probably there would been no Majid, there would have been no John because I would be working consistently. So it is a good thing that I went into other areas”.
That notwithstanding, Van said he believes he is still a tough competition to any actor on the scene now because he still has his elements and will even do better now because of the experience he has gotten from traveling to different countries. “I think I still have my strength, strength that probably certain artistes in the industry don’t have”, Van told Peacefmonline.com, when he was asked if he thinks he can still fit into the competition in Ghana now.
Van who has largely been accused of abandoning the Ghanaian movie industry that made him, to live in Nigeria debunked that notion saying there is nothing wrong with shooting more Nigerian movies than Ghanaian movies and that does not make him a Nigerian.
“I really want to debunk all those stories that said I live in Nigeria. That is outrageous because I live in Ghana and my family is right here. I don’t think there is anything wrong if I am in Nollywood movies or Ghallywood movies, or Hollywood movies what difference does it make?
Admittedly, he said, he has not been in Ghana for some time now and has not featured in any Ghanaian movie for a while, but explained that he didn’t spend all his time in Nigeria alone. Van disclosed that he spent few months in Nigeria, and traveled to the US and other countries to work and raise money for his foundation. “So let’s not get it twisted I am not always in Nigeria”.
He told media men that he returned from the US on Saturday July 30, 2011 after staying there for over a month. Speaking on the issue of Ghanaian actors being asked to pay money before they are allowed to shoot there, he said it is true some industry players in Nigeria asked Ghanaian actors in Nigeria to pay some amount of money before they are allowed to act in a movie. He said he has been approached personally a few times to pay some money and revealed that at some point he had no choice than to pay because they see him as a foreigner.
“I have nothing against any association banning its members or asking its members not to work with a particular person for misconduct but the most important thing is how strong or how true was that thing that the individual was being accused off that merits them to be banned or how bad was it. That is where the question is but I am not against anyone being banned if they go against the code of conduct”.
He rather thinks that "we should be more careful" because according to hi, "Nigerians made such mistakes in the past and banned several movie stars and that affected their industry, so we shouldn’t repeat their mistakes but rather learn from it and move forward".
He also denied allegations that he swore never to work with Abdul Sallam Mumuni CEO of Venus Film Productions who gave him his first major role ever in a movie titled “Divine Love” because there was misunderstanding between the two of them.
Van said he has never said anywhere that he has stopped working with Sallam and revealed that he has had a couple of meetings with Sallam to shoot with him but it seems Sallam always calls him at the wrong time because on every occasion he is called to come on set, he has to travel outside the country, aside other few times that they agreed on a particular date to shoot, Sallam disappeared.
Van Vicker was born to a Liberian-Ghanaian mother and a Dutch father. His father died when he was six years old. He considers himself a global citizen as he was raised all over the world by his mother. Van started out in the entertainment world in radio on Vibe FM and as a Television personality for Metropolitan Television (Metro TV) as a Presenter for “Smash TV and later “Hitz Video” on TV3.
In 2003, Vicker appeared in the Ghanaian television series, Suncity, which depicted university life. Vicker was featured in his first film “Divine Love” in 2004 as a supporting character alongside Jackie Appiah and Majid Michel.
He has since acted in movies like; “Divine Love”, “Beyonce” (The President's Daughter), “Darkness of Sorrow”, “Mummy's Daughter”, “The Return of Beyonce”, “American Boy”, “I Hate Women”, “Innocent Soul”, “In the Eyes of My Husband”, “Princess Tyra”, “Royal Battle”, “Wedlock of the Gods”, “Broken Tears”, “Corporate Maid”, “Friday Night”, and most recently “Paparazzi Eye In The Dark” among others.
