Eddie Samuel Obong Watson Jr. (born May 22, 1980) is a
Liberia
Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean ...
n-born
Ghanaian
Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in Ghana–Ivory Coast border, the west, Burkina ...
actor and producer. He received his first Ghanaian Movie Award in 2014 for his film Ebola which he wrote, directed and produced.
Career
Watson's professional acting career started in 2010 with Labour of Love. He later went on the same year to star in the
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
n war movie,
Somewhere in Africa
''Somewhere in Africa: The Cries of humanity'' is a 2011 Ghanaian Nigerian drama film directed by Frank Rajah Arase, starring Majid Michel, Martha Ankomah and Kofi Adjorlolo. It received 7 nominations at the 9th Africa Movie Academy Awards inclu ...
, where he had a supporting role. Costar
Majid Michel
Majid Michel (born 22 September 1980) is a Ghanaian actor, model, television personality, evangelist and a humanitarian. He received nominations for ''Best Actor in a Leading Role'' at the Africa Movie Academy Awards in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2 ...
suggested Watson to the director, Frank Rajah, for the role of a new character being introduced in the sequel 4Play Reloaded of the already popular 4Play by Venus Films. His supporting role in Frank Rajah’s
Somewhere in Africa
''Somewhere in Africa: The Cries of humanity'' is a 2011 Ghanaian Nigerian drama film directed by Frank Rajah Arase, starring Majid Michel, Martha Ankomah and Kofi Adjorlolo. It received 7 nominations at the 9th Africa Movie Academy Awards inclu ...
earned him a nomination at the Nollywood & African Films Critics Awards ( NAFCA).
The following year, Watson had roles in movies like A Reason to Kill and Single Six and by 2011 the actor has made his first move into
Nollywood
Nollywood is a sobriquet that originally referred to the Nigerian film industry. The origin of the term dates back to the early 2000s, traced to an article in ''The New York Times''. Due to the history of evolving meanings and contexts, there ...
when he starred alongside
Queen Nwokoye
Queen Nwokoye (born 11 August 1982) is a Nigerian actress. She is best known for starring as the lead character in a 2014 film titled ''Chetanna'' which earned her a "Best Actress" nomination at the 11th Africa Movie Academy Awards.
Early lif ...
in Desperate Heart. With movies like ''
Single and Married
''Single and Married'' is a 2012 Ghanaian Nigerian romantic blue comedy film, produced by Yvonne Nelson and directed by Pascal Amanfo. It stars Yvonne Nelson, Chris Attoh, Nadia Buari, Tana Adelana, Kofi Adjorlolo, Eddie Watson and Jane 'Efya ...
'' in 2012, '' House of Gold'', Letters to My Mother and Purple Rose in 2013 the actor soon became a house-hold name in African entertainment.
The year 2014, was a bitter sweet year for Watson.
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Maurit ...
and Watson's home country,
Liberia
Liberia (), officially the Republic of Liberia, is a country on the West African coast. It is bordered by Sierra Leone to Liberia–Sierra Leone border, its northwest, Guinea to its north, Ivory Coast to its east, and the Atlantic Ocean ...
, which was one of the worst affected by the
Ebola virus
''Zaire ebolavirus'', more commonly known as Ebola virus (; EBOV), is one of six known species within the genus ''Ebolavirus''. Four of the six known ebolaviruses, including EBOV, cause a severe and often fatal hemorrhagic fever in humans and ot ...
. Watson wrote, produced and directed the short film, Ebola. The year also brought many nominations for the actor for different roles in films such as Bachelors, Sister at War and Purple Rose. And for the first time he was nominated in two different categories for the Ghana Movie Award . The actor has now produced two major movies; Jack & Jill and She Prayed. On Saturday, December 5, 2015, Eddie Watson premiered She Prayed in
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...
with support from some of the cast and other
Africa
Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...
n movie stars including
Majid Michel
Majid Michel (born 22 September 1980) is a Ghanaian actor, model, television personality, evangelist and a humanitarian. He received nominations for ''Best Actor in a Leading Role'' at the Africa Movie Academy Awards in 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2 ...
, Beverly Osu and Melvin Oduah. The screening of She Prayed is said to be the biggest show in all the premieres and all international shows in 2015 in
Sierra Leone
Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...
. The movie banked an impressive 98% hold of its premiere rating.
Personal life
Eddie Watson married his partner of two years, actress Naomi Baaba Watson, in a private ceremony. The couple welcomed their first child, Emirror (Emi) Cassia Watson on February 2, 2015. Watson took to his Instagram page to share the passing of his mother Leonora Caulker on May 27, 2021.
Humanitarian causes
Eddie Watson's documentary film "Ebola" was one of his humanitarian efforts after the outbreak hit
West Africa
West Africa or Western Africa is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Maurit ...
in 2014. The film was meant to educate people in areas affected by the disease. The film was totally financed by Eddie Watson himself and was distributed to most media houses in countries affected plus others in the region of publication and also throughout the internet without a single charge from the actor. He launched the “We Need Help-Ebola Campaign” the same year the film was shot with the Twitter hashtag #WeNeedHelpEbola. The Ebola documentary film starred some popular faces in
Ghana
Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...
’s movie and music industries including
Yvonne Nelson
Yvonne Nelson (born November 12, 1985) is a Ghanaian actress, model, film producer and entrepreneur.Sarkodie and more. Later that year, the film went on to win Best Short Film Movie at the
Ghana Movie Awards
''Ghana Movie Awards'' is an annual film award to recognise excellence in the Ghanaian film industry. The first edition was held on 25 December 2010 at the Accra International Conference Center. It’s only in 2017 that the ceremony wasn’t held ...