Osita Iheme, MFR (born 20 February 1982) is a

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was taken from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jo ...

actor, Producer and author. He is widely known for playing the role of Pawpaw in the film ''

Aki na Ukwa ''Aki na Ukwa'' is a 2002 Nigerian family comedy film directed by Amayo Uzo Philips. The film stars Osita Iheme and Chinedu Ikedieze. The film launched the acting careers of the two actors Osita and Chinedu and this film marked their maiden co ...

'' alongside

Chinedu Ikedieze Chinedu Ikedieze, MFR (born 12 December 1977) is a Nigerian actor, entrepreneur and investor. He is best known for playing alongside Osita Iheme in majority of the movies after their breakthrough as duo in the 2002 film '' Aki na Ukwa''. He ha ...

. Osita Iheme is the founder of Inspired Movement Africa which he founded to inspire, motivate and stimulate the minds of young Nigerians and Africans. In 2007, Iheme received the ''Lifetime Achievement Award'' at the

African Movie Academy Awards The Africa Movie Academy Awards, popularly known as AMAA and The AMA Awards, is presented annually to recognize excellence among professionals working in, or non-African professionals who have contributed to, the African film industry. It was fou ...

. He is considered to be one of Nigeria's most famous actors. In 2011, Osita Iheme was honored as a Member of the

Order of the Federal Republic The Order of the Federal Republic (OFR) is one of two orders of merit, established by the Federal Republic of Nigeria in 1963. It is senior to the Order of the Niger. The highest honours where the Grand Commander in the Order of the Federal Rep ...

(MFR) by President Goodluck Jonathan. He has an estimated net worth of 560 million naira.

Early life

Osita Iheme was born into a family of five with his siblings and parents all being taller than him, his father being Mr Herbert Iheme and mother being Mrs Augustina Iheme. Born on February 20, 1982, Iheme hails from Mbaitoli,

Imo State Imo State ( ig, Ȯra Imo) is a state in the South-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria, bordered to the north by Anambra State, Rivers State to the west and south, and Abia State to the east. It takes its name from the Imo River which flows al ...

, Nigeria. He grew up in

Abia State Abia State ( ig, Ȯha Abia) is a state in the South-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria, it is bordered to the north and northeast by the states of Enugu, and Ebonyi, Imo State to the west, Cross River State to the east, Akwa Ibom State to th ...

and has an MBA degree from

Institute of Management and Technology, Enugu The Institute of Management and Technology, Enugu, popularly known as IMT Enugu, is a polytechnic college located in Enugu State, Nigeria. The state-owned Institute of Management and Technology is a polytechnic school that was founded in 1965. T ...

(IMT). After completing his studies at IMT, he initially wanted to become a lawyer, but pursued his career in film acting in 1998 and initially featured in small roles.

Career

In his career, Osita Iheme was often

typecast In film, television, and theatre, typecasting is the process by which a particular actor becomes strongly identified with a specific character, one or more particular roles, or characters having the same traits or coming from the same social or ...

in the role of a child, a pattern that followed him well into adulthood. In 2002, he rose to fame when he starred together with

in the comedy film ''

'' in which he played the role of Pawpaw. In this role, Osita Iheme played a mischievous child. He is the New Generation Ambassador for Rotary International District 9110 and the author of the book ''INSPIRED 101''. Osita Iheme has starred in over a hundred movies. Like his on-screen partner

, Iheme has a small physique, making him different from other actors in the Nigerian movie industry. He has evolved in his career from a comedic actor to a multifaceted established actor. Both Chinedu and Osita have been maintaining onscreen and offscreen chemistry which is widely praised by the Nollywood fraternity. He revealed in 2018, however, that he had desires and hopes to become a

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, ...

in the near future.

Honor

To reward his contribution towards comedy genre movies Nigerian Film Industry, in 2011 he was awarded the Nigerian National Honor of Member of the Order of the Federal Republic (MFR) by President

Goodluck Jonathan Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan (born 20 November 1957)Lawson Heyford, ''The Source'' (Lagos), 11 December 2006. is a Nigerian politician who served as the President of Nigeria from 2010 to 2015. He lost the 2015 presidential election to fo ...

. In 2007 he was given the lifetime Achievement award by AMAA (African movie Academy Awards).

Influence

Osita Iheme's performance alongside fellow little person actor

in the 2002 film ''

'' is still widely spoken about and the duo, especially Osita's character, on-screen trending through memes since 2019 on Twitter and other social media platforms. This eventually earned him a global fanbase.

Filmography

* Welcome To Africa (2023) *

Aki and Pawpaw ''Aki and Pawpaw'' is a 2021 Nigerian comedy film co-produced by Play Network Studios and Film One Entertainment. The comedy film directed by Biodun Stephen, written by Steph Boyo and Ozioma Ogbaji was a remake of the Aki na Ukwa 2002 comedi ...

(2022) *

Christmas in Miami Christmas in Miami is a Nigerian comedy film released on December 24, 2021, and directed by Robert Peters. Cast The lead cast of the film include Ayo Makun, Kent Morita, John Amos, Nadya Marie, Barry piacente, Catherine Olsen, Osita Iheme, R ...

(2021) * Games men play 5: Computer Games is our Game (2018) * Ada My Love (2018) * The Self-Destruction of Little Mark (2017) * Double Mama (2015) * Mirror Boy (2010) * Markus D Millionaire (2008) * Stubborn Flies (2007) * Boys from Holland (2006) * Brain Box (2006) * Criminal Law (2006) * Jadon (2006) * Last Challenge (2006) * Remote Control (2006) * Royal Messengers (2006) * Winning Your Love (2006) * Colours of Emotion (2005)* Final World Cup (2005) * Holy Diamond (2005) * I Think Twice (2005) * My Business (2005) * The Last Orphan * Reggae Boys (2005) * Secret Adventure (2005) * Spoiler (2005) * Village Boys (2005) * American Husband (2004) * Big Daddies (2004) * Columbia Connection (2004) * Daddy Must Obey (2004) * Mr.Ibu (2004) * Baby Police 2 (2004) * John and Johnny Just Come (2003) * Green Snake (2003) * 2 Rats (2003) *

Aki na ukwa ''Aki na Ukwa'' is a 2002 Nigerian family comedy film directed by Amayo Uzo Philips. The film stars Osita Iheme and Chinedu Ikedieze. The film launched the acting careers of the two actors Osita and Chinedu and this film marked their maiden co ...

(2003) * I'm in Love (2003) * Baby Police (2003) * Back from America 2 (2003) * Charge & Bail (2003) * Tell Them (2003) * Oke Belgium (2003) * Good Mother (2003) * Informant (2003) * Johnny Just Come (2003) * Nicodemus (2003) * Nwa Teacher (2003) * Twin Brothers (2003) * Aka Gum (2002) * Okwu na uka (2002) *''Aki na Ukwa''

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Iheme, Osita Igbo male actors 1982 births Nigerian male film actors Actors with dwarfism Living people Male actors from Imo State 21st-century Nigerian male actors Lifetime Achievement Award Africa Movie Academy Award winners Members of the Order of the Federal Republic People from Imo State