Ghanaian actor Christopher Attoh popularly known as Chris Attoh is a star who shines in several ways. With over a decade of experience in the entertainment industry in his home country – Ghana, Nigeria and in the UK, Chris has carved a niche for himself as an entertainer who delivers excellently across different fields.
He started out as a radio presenter, then transitioned into TV presenting, acting and most recently, movie directing. He also runs a TV production company in Ghana. Having starred in several movies and the immensely popular M-Net TV Soap Opera ‘Tinsel’, handsome Chris has charmed his way into the hearts of many with his good looks and gentlemanly charm. He speaks to Adeola Adeyemo in this exclusive interview about his passions – his career, the love of his life, and his plans for the future.
One of the Tinsel home sets in a serene part of Lagos provided a conducive atmosphere for Chris to open up about himself – his past, his present and his future. It was easy to probe into different aspects of his life and he held nothing back as he spurned out well-thought responses to my several questions. Chris has had one of his biggest career breaks with Tinsel and how he achieved success with the TV soap was what I was most curious about.
His Breakthrough Role on Tinsel
Was there something specific about your character in Tinsel that drew you in?
What attracted me was the fact that I was going to play the guy in the wheel chair, (that meant) I wasn’t going to move my feet. It’s one of the most interesting characters I’ve done. I did some research on stem cells and implants and people who can’t walk and I met some very interesting people who up until today, make me thankful for my hands and legs.
Tell us about “Being Kwame Mensah”?
Kwame is at the moment, not your villain but more of an antagonist because Kwame will do whatever it takes to get what he wants. He is coming from a background of a well-raised child but had difficulties growing up and his sister Brenda who was very hard on him and sort of looked after him when their parents abandoned them. He is very misunderstood but I think that one of the things that tones the character down is his love for Telema. In a nutshell, he is an antagonist. He had an operation, a stem cell implant and now he can walk and that is the problem because ever since he started walking, all hell has broken loose. It’s fun to play!
Did “Tinsel” bring you to Nigeria?
At the moment, yes. Before Tinsel, I would only come and visit. The most I had done was interviews on the red carpet for shows like HipHop World Awards, Dele Momodu’s Red Carol. I would come almost every year to cover some of these events so Nigeria wasn’t totally new to me but at the moment, yes, most of my time spent here is on and for Tinsel.
The “Chris Attoh” Media Mogul Map – The Story
How did you get into radio?
It began with me in the library of Groove FM as a Librarian. This was during my National Service after my A-Level. I had constantly watched the presenters come and go and one day one guy didn’t turn up and I said to my boss, “please let me do the show”. He was too frustrated to think, and he said, “alright – get on” and within five minutes of it, he said “you are not entering the library again”. That is how I started. I started a show called Book Worm Square on Groove FM and then I moved to Choice FM and then to Capital Radio in Kumasi, and all around.
Radio & TV Presenter, Actor & and Now Your Role as a Director and Production Company Executive. We know about your start in radio, let’s find out the rest of the journey began.
I got my first degree in Painting at the University of Science and Technology, Ghana. Then I left Ghana and moved to London to go and further my education at the London Television and Film Institute but I never finished my second degree. I started but then I started working on the side and I began to enjoy the money. I said to myself that I was going to defer for a year and just work. So I went full-time into banking security. The last place that I worked was Goldman Sachs in London but the passion for Television and Film was still there. The owner of OBE TV in London had heard about the good work I had done in school (London Television and Film Institute) and actually requested for me to come and do something for them. That’s how I got back into television.
What do you look out for before accepting a movie or soap opera role?A good story and a good director. Those are the two really key important things to me…and a good production team as well. So that from the point where the story is kicks off to where it’s actually being produced, to the post production, you know that you are covered.
Have you featured in any other soap opera apart from Tinsel?
I’ve dabbled in another one which never came out unfortunately.
How long have you been on the “Tinsel” Cast?
Since it began. About five years now.
How did you get the role?
What they did in that they auditioned in some African countries, Ghana being one of them. I was minding my own business in Ghana and the timing was appropriate. Remember the girl I said I moved back to Ghana for? That was when she broke up with me. I was in a very loose cannon state, I was like anything goes, anything, anyhow.
I remember I was looking for a way out because Ghana is too small. I didn’t want to be in the same place and someone called me from Multichoice. I had done some work for M-Net before. I was a link presenter for Big Brother Africa 1 and 2 for Ghana. So I went for the audition. At the time, what attracted me to Tinsel was that I had just began to do movies, I had done my second movie by then and I was afraid to get type cast as a ‘Lover Boy’ in movies. I do have a few predecessors in the business and somehow whatever role they are playing is similar.
All along, I think the passion was heading towards film because I knew I always wanted to direct. One day, I said “let me put myself in the shoes of an actor so when I’m directing an actor, I know exactly what I want.” That’s how I stumbled into acting. I don’t like saying the word stumbled because I don’t think it was totally by chance. My first break came with the movie “Life and Living It”. So far, I’ve starred in 7 movies.
Tell Us About Them
“Life and Living It” was my first, “Six Hours to Christmas” which I did with Damilola Adegbite, “Scorned”, “Deleting Bisi” (Out in 2012), “Sinking Sands” alongside Hollywood actor Jimmy Jean-Louis, “Perfect Picture”, which is one of my favourites. In Nigeria, I believe it was released as the “Three Virgins”. The latest one is “Be My Guest”. It’s going to opened in cinemas in Ghana on Valentine’s Day. It stars myself, Nadia Buari and (Nigerian beauty queen turned actress) Omotu Bissong.
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