Chinedu Ikedieze
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Chinedu Ikedieze, MFR (born 12 December 1977) is a Nollywood actor, entrepreneur and investor. He is best known for playing alongside
Osita Iheme Osita Iheme Order of the Federal Republic, MFR (; born 20 February 1982) who hails from Mbaitolu Local Government in Imo State is a Nigerian actor, author, film producer and comedian known for his role as Pawpaw in ''Aki na Ukwa'' (2002) alongsi ...
in the 2002 film '' Aki na Ukwa''. He has featured in over 150 films in a career spanning over 22 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. They have 2 daughters and a son.


Education

Chinedu completed his primary and secondary education in
Aba ABA may refer to: Aviation * AB Aerotransport, former Scandinavian airline * IATA airport code for Abakan International Airport in Republic of Khakassia, Russia Businesses and organizations Broadcasting * Alabama Broadcasters Association, Uni ...
,
Abia State Abia is a state in the Southeastern region of Nigeria. The state's capital is Umuahia and its most populous city is Aba. Abia is bordered the west by Imo, east by Cross River, south by Rivers, northwest by Anambra and northeast by Enug ...
. 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 introduced in England and Wales in 1920 alongside th ...
(HND) in
Theatre Arts Theatre or theater is a collaborative form of performing art that uses live performers, usually actors to present experiences of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place, often a stage. The performers may communic ...
and a degree in
Mass Communication Mass communication is the process of imparting and exchanging information through mass media to large population segments. It utilizes various forms of media as technology has made the dissemination of information more efficient. Primary examples o ...
from the Institute of Management and Technology,
Enugu Enugu () verbally pronounced as "Enụgwụ" by the Igbo indigenes is a state in the South-East geopolitical zone of Nigeria, bordered to the north by the states of Benue and Kogi, Ebonyi State to the east and southeast, Abia State to the so ...
(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 college, private For-profit higher education in the United States, for-profit film school and Drama school, acting school based in New York City, Los Angeles metropolitan ar ...
in 2004.


Collaboration with Osita Iheme

He entered the
Nollywood Nollywood, a portmanteau of Nigeria and Hollywood, is a sobriquet that originally referred to the Nigerian film industry. The origin of the term goes back to the early 2000s, traced to an article in ''The New York Times''. Due to the history ...
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. Chinedu and Osita collectively established Aki and Pawpaw Entertainment. They also own the Aki n Paw Child Care Foundation.


Honours

In 2007, Ikedieze received the ''Lifetime Achievement Award'' at the
Africa Movie Academy Awards The Africa Movie Academy Awards is an annual entertainment award ceremony presented to recognize excellence among African and non-African professionals, who have contributed to the African film industry. The award was founded by Peace Anyiam-Osig ...
. 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 Nigeria, Federal Republic of Nigeria in 1963. It is senior to the Order of the Niger. The highest honours are the Grand Commander in the Order of the Fede ...
which was given by the then Nigerian President
Goodluck Jonathan Goodluck Ebele Azikiwe Jonathan (born 20 November 1957) is a Nigerian politician who served as the president of Nigeria from 2010 to 2015. He lost the 2015 presidential election to former military head of state General Muhammadu Buhari and ...
for his contributions to Nollywood and to the economic growth of the country. In 2018, he was honored in
Miami, Florida Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...
in the
United States of America The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguo ...
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. Chinedu praises Kasvid the late film producer for investing in him and Osita.


Filmography


Awards and nominations


Television

* ''
The Johnsons ''The Johnsons'' or '' De Johnsons '' is a 1992 in film, 1992 Netherlands, Dutch horror film thriller directed by Rudolf van den Berg. It also known under the title ''Xangadix''. The film was nominated for a ''Fantasy Film Award'' at the ''Porto ...
'' 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 Nigerian comedians