Nollywood actress and filmmaker, Funke Akindele has revealed the sacrifices she made for her latest movie, Behind The Scenes which has grossed N2.7 billion.
Speaking to Bella Naija she said: I stayed very busy and put all I had into it. She said she threw herself into work, didn’t do her hair, didn’t go to parties, didn’t go to people’s houses to say hello.
Akindele said she was neck-deep in work, sacrificed her time for it and now enjoys the fruits of her labour. It took a lot of sacrifices, a lot of sleepless nights, a lot of forgetting to eat, a lot of giving everything, the director said.
… “I work a lot differently to achieve this level of success. When I say “a lot of work” I mean, “give it your best.” I work myself to death, I don’t even do my hair unless I’m going on the red carpet or somewhere important. I don’t do parties, I don’t go to say hello at home, I stop everything. I’m buried in work, I give my time for it. Now I feel relaxed, fresh, doing the skincare. There was a lot of sacrifice, sleepless nights, forgetting to eat, giving my all.
On dancing to promote her movie, Funke said no one asked her to dance and stated she does more than just dance. The box-office queen said people should stop reducing her work to just dancing, as she also does nails for people.
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Speaking at Wema Bank International Women’s Day program with Morayo Afolabi Brown, Funke speaks on the sacrifices she made to build her brand. She said that she had to give up her social life, didn’t go to parties and locked herself up in her Estate for almost two years. “My colleagues were angry with me, called me a sadist, not knowing I was building my brand,” she said.
Akindele had shared some of the steps she took towards making her dream a reality in an Instagram post. It didn’t happen overnight,” she said. “It took learning, praying and deciding to re-strategise, re-evaluate and re-execute.
In another post, she talked about the pressures she had to deal with in the industry, and revealed that it didn’t break her but matured her. “It taught me patience, discipline and emotional control,” she says.
The National Film and Video Censors Board (NFVCB) had honoured the box office Queen for her record-breaking achievements.
Funke took to her Instagram page and said that she was honoured and recognized for her hard work and consistency in the entertainment industry and she expressed her gratitude.
Funke had broken records as her 2025 Cinema movie, Behind The Scenes, grossed N2,100,000,000 in one month. She expressed excitement, attributing her big win to God being in motion and expressed gratitude to Him.
Late last year, Akindele celebrated 27 years in the movie industry. She revealed the secret to her continued success and admitted how she has been able to come this far with the favour of God and hard work.