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 ''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 ...

''. He has featured in over 150 films in a career spanning over 20 years. He has acted in the role of a kid in most of his films during his early career due to his stature and physical appearance. He is known as Aki for his performance in the film ''Aki na Ukwa''. In 2011, he married fashion designer Nneoma Nwaijah and the couple had their first child in 2012.

Career

Chinedu completed his primary and secondary education in Aba, Abia State. After completing his secondary education he earned a

Higher National Diploma Higher National Diploma (HND), part of the Higher Nationals suite of qualifications, is an academic higher education qualification in the United Kingdom and various other countries. They were first introduced in England and Wales in 1920 alongsi ...

(HND) in

Theatre Arts Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors or actresses, to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The perform ...

and a degree in Mass Communication from the Institute of Management and Technology, Enugu (IMT). After completing his studies at IMT, he initially wanted to become a lawyer but pursued a career in film acting in 1998 and initially featured in lesser roles. He first acted in a minor role in the 1998 film ''Evil Men''. He enrolled in the prestigious

New York Film Academy New York Film Academy – School of Film and Acting (NYFA) is a private for-profit film school and acting school based in New York City, Los Angeles, and Miami. The New York Film Academy was founded in 1992 by Jerry Sherlock, a former film, ...

in 2004.

Collaboration with Osita Iheme

He entered the

Nollywood Nollywood is a sobriquet that originally referred to the Nigerian film industry. The origin of the term dates back to the early 2000s, traced to an article in ''The New York Times''. Due to the history of evolving meanings and contexts, there ...

industry in 2000 and rose to recognition in a Nigerian film he acted in 2000, ''Aki na Ukwa'', where he played the breakthrough role of Aki alongside another little person actor Osita Iheme. This created a bond between both of them. The duo were popularly identified as " Aki and Paw Paw" since the release of the film in 2002 and ever since they have both featured together in several films taking the lead roles in those movies. Both Chinedu and Osita have been maintaining onscreen and offscreen chemistry which is widely praised by the Nollywood fraternity.

Honours

In 2007, Ikedieze 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 was also honored with 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 ...

which was given by the then Nigerian 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 ...

for his contributions to Nollywood and to the economic growth of the country. In 2018, he was honored in

Miami, Florida Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a East Coast of the United States, coastal metropolis and the County seat, county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade C ...

in the

United States of America The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territo ...

as a distinguished visitor to the city of Miami, Florida. In appreciation he said “From the bottom of my heart I say thank you to Miami-Dade, country office of the Mayor and the county commissioners for honoring me as a distinguished visitor to the city of Miami, Florida. You have just given me a key to more success in life. He therefore encouraged all to believe if themselves if the world believes in them.

Legacy

His performance alongside fellow little person actor Osita Iheme in the 2002 film ''Aki na Ukwa'' is still widely spoken of and the duo especially Osita's character has been trending through memes since 2019 in Twitter and other social media platforms globally. Osita is listed as one of the richest actors in Nigeria.

Filmography

Awards and nominations

Television

* '' The Johnsons'' as Efetobore Johnson, produced by Rogers Ofime

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Ikedieze, Chinedu Male actors from Abia State Nigerian male film actors Igbo male actors Nigerian male comedians Living people 1977 births Actors with dwarfism 21st-century Nigerian male actors Lifetime Achievement Award Africa Movie Academy Award winners Members of the Order of the Federal Republic Actors from Abia State Nigerian film producers Nigerian businesspeople New York Film Academy alumni Nigerian television actors African comedians