Richard Evans Mofe-Damijo (born 6 July 1961), popularly known as RMD, is a foremost Nigerian actor, writer, producer, lawyer, and former journalist. He was also a Commissioner for Culture and Tourism in

Delta State Delta is a States of Nigeria, state in the South South (Nigeria), South-South geopolitical zone of Nigeria. Named after the Niger Delta—a large part of which is in the state—the state was formed from the former Bendel State, on 27 August 1 ...

in 2009. In 2005, he won the Africa Movie Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role. He received a Lifetime Achievement Award at the

12th Africa Movie Academy Awards The 2016 Africa Movie Academy Awards ceremony was held on Saturday 11 June 2016 at the Obi Wali International Conference Center in Port Harcourt, Rivers State. The ceremony recognized and honored excellence among directors, actors, and writer ...

in 2016. In 2024, he was honoured with the Industry Merit Awards, alongside Iya Rainbow at the

Africa Magic Viewers' Choice Awards The ''Africa Magic Viewers' Choice Awards'' (AMVCA) are a set of accolades presented by MultiChoice recognizing outstanding achievement in television and film across Africa,, through an annual ceremony hosted in the Exhibition Center of the Eko ...

Early life

Mofe-Damijo was born in

Aladja Aladja is a coastal town in Delta State, Nigeria. It is located on the bank of southern part of River Warri. The majority of the people are of Udu, a sub-group of Urhobo ethnic group. a section of the town was occupied by some people of Ijaw e ...

community of Udu Kingdom,

, in the South-South region of

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

. He attended Midwest College,

Warri The city of Warri is an oil hub within South-South Nigeria and houses an annex of the Delta State Government House. Warri City is one of the major hubs of the petroleum industry in Nigeria. Warri, Udu, Okpe and Uvwie are the commercial ...

and Anglican Grammar School, and was a member of the Drama Club. He studied

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 ...

at the University of Benin. In 1997, Mofe-Damijo returned to the university to study law at the

University of Lagos The University of Lagos (UNILAG) is a Public university, public research university located in Lagos, Nigeria, which was founded in 1962. UNILAG is one of the education in Nigeria#First generation universities, first generation universities in ...

, and graduated in 2004.

Career

After graduating from university with a Theatre Arts degree, Mofe-Damijo appeared in the soap opera '' Ripples'' as a police inspector but gained more popularity as villain Segun Kadiri in rival soap ''

Checkmate Checkmate (often shortened to mate) is any game position in chess and other chess-like games in which a player's king is in check (threatened with ) and there is no possible escape. Checkmating the opponent wins the game. In chess, the king is ...

''. Before then, he had a stint as a writer with daily newspaper ''The Concord'', and magazines ''

Metro Metro may refer to: Geography * Metro City (Indonesia), a city in Indonesia * A metropolitan area, the populated region including and surrounding an urban center Public transport * Rapid transit, a passenger railway in an urban area with high ...

'' and ''Quality''. ''

Out of Bounds In sports, out of bounds (or out-of-bounds) refers to being outside the playing boundaries of the field. The legality of going out of bounds (intentionally or not), and the ease of prevention, vary by sport. Sports that use this term include Am ...

'' was the first film for which he received a writer/producer credit. In 2005, at the maiden edition of 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 ...

, Mofe-Damijo won the award for ''Best Actor in a Leading Role''. On 5th January 2017, he hosted the 2016 GLO-CAF Awards alongside Nigerian journalist Mimi Fawaz. On 8th December 2021, he won an award at Ghana, a Black Star Honor at the Rhymes on Da Runway in Gold coast, Ghana.

Political career

Mofe-Damijo was appointed as the Special Adviser of Culture and Tourism to the then Governor Emmanuel Uduaghan in 2008, and was

commissioner for culture and tourism 2009 and 2015.

Personal life

Mofe-Damijo was married to a journalist/publisher and talk show host May Ellen 'MEE' Ezekiel. After her death in 1996, Mofe-Damijo married TV personality Jumobi Adegbesan, who later left TV presenting for the corporate world. Mofe-Damijo has five children: two with his current wife and three from his previous marriage.

Selected filmography

Film

TV shows

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mofe-Damijo, Richard 1967 births Best Actor Africa Movie Academy Award winners Living people Delta State politicians University of Lagos alumni Male actors from Warri Political office-holders in Nigeria 20th-century Nigerian male actors 21st-century Nigerian male actors Nigerian actor-politicians University of Benin (Nigeria) alumni Male actors in Yoruba cinema Actors from Delta State Nigerian male television actors Nigerian lawyers Nigerian film producers Nigerian film directors Nigerian writers Nigerian male film actors Lifetime Achievement Award Africa Movie Academy Award winners