Nigerian movie star, Sandra Okunzuwa never imagined the spotlight would find her on a film set rather than in a courtroom. With a law degree in hand and dreams of becoming one of Nigeria’s top lawyers, acting was never on her radar — until a fateful day changed everything.
“I never planned to be an actress,” she recalls. “I studied law and wanted to be a big lawyer in Nigeria. But one day, a friend dragged me to a movie audition. I wasn’t serious about it — I even thought, ‘Let me just try for fun.’”
That casual decision turned into a life-altering moment. Given a small script to read, Sandra delivered her lines with the seriousness and precision of a courtroom argument. The room erupted — not because she cracked a joke, but because her delivery was so intense, it felt out of place.
“People started laughing, not because I was funny, but because I sounded too serious for a movie,” she says with a laugh. “But guess what? The director said, ‘I like her, she is real.’ That was how I got my first role in Blind Spot.”
From that unlikely beginning, Sandra’s career blossomed. What began as an unplanned audition became a gateway into the Nollywood industry, where she’s now a familiar face on screens across Africa.
“Today, people know me more as an actress than a lawyer,” she says. “Funny how life changes when you take a small risk, right?”
Sandra’s story is a reminder that sometimes, destiny has a better script — and all it takes is showing up.
Story by Obaapa Janee/ ahotoronline.com
