You will be hard-pressed to find one person who has seen the movie “Living in Bondage: Breaking Free” and doesn’t recognize the force that the young actor is becoming in the industry. In the movie, being a hustler suited him and when he became wealthy, it fitted like gloves. And as a lover, he was untouchable. This is not a post about his performance in Living in Bondage. This is all about him, person and career, and here is everything you need to know.
Age and real name
Swanky JKA was born Jideofor Kenechukwu Achufusi on the 17th of October, 1991. There are publications that put his year of birth in 1993 but this one is unlikely as Kenneth Okonkwo who acted as his screen father in “Living in Bondage” said that Swanky was a few months old when they did the original movie in 1992. He was born in Enugu of parents who came from Abagana, Anambra State.
Swanky JKA is 29 years old. And this age doesn’t tell the full picture. Swanky JKA is 6 feet 4 and a half inches tall. That is around 1.96 meters. I don’t know of any Nigerian actor who is taller than Swanky and I am counting actors of all time. Ramsey Nouah and Kenneth Okonkwo are not midgets but Swanky towered over them in the movie.
One last thing about the name Swanky JKA (as an aside): I don’t think it will last much longer now. Jidekene Achufusi will most likely be the name under which he would be credit in the near future – he is no longer a teenager, Swanky indeed.
Swanky JKA – Career and relationship
There are rumors that Alexx Ebuko was billed to play the role of Nnamdi Okeke in the sequel of “Living in Bondage”. But at the last minute, the producer, Charles Okpaleke, decided that a fresh face should be used for the role. This is normal. Iconic roles mostly of younger age ranges are usually given to unknown actors. Mena Massoud as Aladdin is a recent prime example. Ekubo wouldn’t just work as Nnamdi Okeke, they reasoned; he is already associated as a lover boy to work. Audition halls were opened in Owerri, Enugu, and Lagos.
Swanky JKA walked in with his Igbo swag and ability to seamlessly switch to English posh and Ramsey Nouah saw Nnamdi Okeke. JKA got the role. During the audition for “Aladdin”, Mena had to pass a chemistry test with co-actor Naomi Scott. I don’t suppose that there was a chemistry test between Swanky JKA and Munachi Abii the ex-Miss Nigeria queen but they were a hot couple on the show. If you haven’t seen the movie you may watch the soundtrack video by Larry Gaaga and Flavour just to get a snapshot of their romantic picture.
Before “Living in Bondage”, Swanky has acted in a handful of Igbo movies and cheaper Nollywood films, a couple of them produced by well-known Nollywood actor of old, Ernest Obi who is now an Upper Iweka producer. Swanky’s earliest movie credit comes from 2010. Swanky has also done some modeling, he contested for Mr. Ideal Nigeria at one point in his career and finished 6th among 40 finalists.
The first time I saw Swanky JKA was in Genevieves’s “Lionheart” in which he played a passing role of a reporter. “Living In Bondage” is his biggest credit and might remain so for a couple of years but everyone who really watched Swanky can tell that this role is the first of many big roles.
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For his role in “Living”, Swanky was nominated for the best lead actor in a drama or movie by AMVCA. “Mama I made it,” he wrote on Instagram. “No film school, no connect, no drama, no clout chasing, no hating, no stress…” he added before asking his fans to vote for him. He didn’t win the award which was a shocker for many (our editor feels Swanky was robbed and wrote about it all here). He won the trailblazer award which feels like compensation for missing out on the Best Actor award. It turns out that Swanky JKA first wrote the speech for Best Actor of AMVCA in 2014. Some will say it is six years late and counting but Jide is still in his twenties and we believe this is the first accolade of several decades of an A career.
If you like Swanky, you are in luck as Swanky JKA is unattached to the best of our knowledge. In one of the interviews when both actors and producers of “Living in Bondage” was pushing the show, Swanky said he was married to his work for now. Of course, he is a Nigerian star and that is something Nigerians hardly do, admit that they are in a relationship; when, on the rare occasion that they agree to be seeing anyone, they never give as much as a clue. We know why they do this and there is no reason the name and when it is finally revealed maybe after engagement or on the alter, there is it would still be hot news.
In April 2020, it emerged in the media that Swanky JVA stars in the movie “Kambili: The Whole 30 Yards” alongside Nancy Isime, Uzor Arukwe, Mawuli Gavor, and Toyin Abraham. The movie is directed by “Sugar Rush” director Kayode Kasum and was expected in the cinemas on June 2nd, 2020 but Covid19 didn’t permit this. It finally came out in December 2020.
Correction: An earlier version of this post incorrectly gave Swanky’s name as the winner of Best Actor In Drama or Movie. Timini Egbuson of “Elevator Baby” won the award. We apologize for this error.
Image source: Shugaban and Twitter
