Some veteran actors are very difficult to work with

Ghanaian actor and filmmaker Kwaku Manu has expressed concerns about some veteran actors in the movie industry, stating that their unwillingness to adapt to modern filmmaking practices can sometimes make working with them difficult.

Speaking in an interview on Akoma FM on September 6, 2026, Kwaku Manu mentioned that some older actors initially refused to feature in movies produced for YouTube because they did not consider the platform suitable for their work.

According to him, some actors would question where a movie was going to be shown and reject the offer once they were told it was intended for YouTube.

“In the movie industry, we have old actors who are worrisome. At first, when you call some actors for YouTube films, they will tell you they won’t do it. They would ask where you are taking the movies to, and when you mention YouTube, they would say, as for YouTube, they don’t want to be in those kinds of movies,” he said.

Kwaku Manu noted that he finds such attitudes surprising, arguing that releasing movies on YouTube should not be viewed differently from having films aired on television stations.

“It’s as if they don’t know it’s the same as taking the films to TV stations,” he stated.

The actor further stated that some veteran actors also struggle to adjust to the changing demands of filmmaking, particularly when directors want them to perform scenes differently from the styles they have become accustomed to.

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“There are some veteran actors too who, when you want to direct them to do the job in a certain way, they would want to take you back to their old style. They will make some demands that are unnecessary in this era and if they stress on that, we will leave them behind because there’s no time,” he shared.

Touching on the importance of scripts, Kwaku Manu stressed that actors need to familiarise themselves with the story and understand what is expected of them before arriving on set.

“We all work with scripts. No director will go on set and say they didn’t bring a script. Sometimes, you can take a script to set, but the story also changes. As an actor, it’s very important to get the script so that you will really understand what you’re about to shoot,” he noted.

However, he also pointed out that some veteran actors want to know every detail about the production, including the exact number of scenes they are expected to shoot, before agreeing to appear on set.

“They would want to know everything about the script and the number of scenes they will be shooting before they show up on set. They then go and mark the number of scenes they’ve shot,” he said.

Despite his concerns, Kwaku Manu emphasised that veteran actors remain important to the growth of the Ghanaian movie industry due to their wealth of experience.

“But then again, we’re also growing old. If you don’t work with the old actors, you might not also be featured in movies when you grow old. They even have more experience than the young actors, so we still need them,” he added.