I Can Speak English - Actress

Top local actress, mercy Asiedu, who is popularly called Asabea, has reacted to public claims that she neither speaks nor understands English Language.

The actress, who has been acting in Twi movies since 2005, in an interview on Friday said that the claims are untrue, describing them as mere misconception people have about her. “I did not have much education as I ended at Form 4 but I understand English Language. When you speak English, I understand you. I can also speak, just that my flow is not that smooth,” she disclosed adding “when I travel outside Ghana, I don’t travel with anybody. When I get to the Kotoka International Airport, or any other airport, I don’t hire interpreters. I speak English with the officials there on my own.”

According to Mercy, most of her scripts are in English Language, but she learns and then translates them into Twi. This indicates that claims by fellow actors that Agya Koo and Mr. Beautiful on ETV that they act without scripts are not true.

The plus-size actress however questioned why some Ghanaians always make English Language a hard and fast rule of their lives. “English is not my hometown or mother tongue language. So I don’t have a problem with it - if people say I can’t express myself well in English. It will rather be a disgrace on my part if I can’t speak Twi which is my native language. If I don’t understand somebody’s language it is not by force,” she disclosed.

In Socrates Sarfo’s new movie titled “Adults Only’, Mercy was made to speak English throughout her role. That surprised many movie enthusiasts who did not expect that delivery from her. She told News One that if that is what Ghanaians want from her, then they will see more as she anticipates taking the industry by storm if such roles come her way.

She said due to the changes in the industry, she is also positioning herself for any possible challenge ahead; and speaking English fluently and smoothly in movies is one of them. Mercy says she intends to attend the School of Languages in Kumasi to study English language as she has started receiving jobs for English movies alongside the Twi ones.

She had a stint with the movie industry in 2005. Before then, she was acting in concert party, though acting wasn’t her dream. She had always wanted to become a musician. But she ended up acting within Kristo Asafo drama group alongside Nkomode, Bishop Bob Okala and Akrobotu. In 2001, she was adjudged the best actress for her roles in concert party plays.

Unfortunately, from that time, things have not been too rosy for the concert party industry. So in 2005, she was introduced onto the screens when she got her first role in the movie ‘Asore Ba’ by Miracle Films. That was followed by ‘Obaaba Paa’. The movies, ‘Agya Koo In London’ and Abrokyire Abrabo gave her, her big break. Now she has a lot of movies to her credit.

She said she believes that the industry has great potentials of moving to the next level. The only problem for the industry, she disclosed, is the fact that now anybody at all just establishes a production house and starts shooting movies without any regulation. “Because of that I don’t work with any director at all. If I know you and the works that you have done so far, I will work with you. I don’t want to do a movie and it will later on come out to be rubbish” She is hopeful things will come to normal and the industry will flourish if government supported it by making laws to regulate activities of the industry.

Apart from acting, Mercy says she is into buying and selling of goods. In the not-too-distance future, she hopes to establish her own production company and start making her own movies. Mercy’s father is an Ashanti and mother, a Fante. That makes her half Ashanti and half Fante. She has two children; one 18-year-old and a one-and-half-year-old.