10th June, 2024
By Taiwo Okanlawon
Nollywood veteran, Hanks Anuku, has revealed how a viral video that falsely portrayed him as mentally unstable ruined his career and took a toll on his mental health.
A disturbing video showing Anuku dressed in tattered clothes, appearing to talk to himself, surfaced online in 2023, sparking speculations that he was mentally unstable.
The video of the actor who was spotted at the Northwest fuel station in Asaba started circulating on the internet on Wednesday.
In the video, Hanks Anuku was discussing with another man who was admiring a young lady who walked by. The actor was muttering several words that were hard to put together.
Before leaving the scene, Hanks Anuku mentioned that it was the birthday of Anambra-based cleric Chukwuemeka Ohanaemere alias Prophet Odumeje and he admires the man.
Despite a disclaimer from his colleague, Shan George, many, including filmmaker, Adanma Luke, insisted that the actor was mentally unstable, which led the Actors Guild of Nigeria, AGN, launching an investigation into the matter.
Addressing the incident for the first time in a chat with content creator, Lucky Udu, Anuku revealed that the video was from a movie set.
He disclosed that it was circulated by people trying to tarnish his reputation.
He added that the video caused him personal pain, stressing that he lost friends and was blacklisted by filmmakers.
“I was trying to get into character for a role I was going to play, a madman role. Someone who was not in his correct senses or right frame of mind,” Anuku said.
“So I had to go naturally visit the environment on how I would play it in that same neighbourhood. I was just showing the way the director wanted me to do it, meditating and getting into character.
“I lost friends, producers no longer contacted me for jobs. I lost a lot of money, I lost jobs, and I was jobless. People did not care about me. It was God who directed my footsteps to a good soul.
“I went through pain, if you were in my shoes you would feel it. I was heartbroken for these people to do this to me.”
Questions about the actor’s mental health first started in 2022 after a video of Hanks looking tattered on the streets went viral.
The footage generated reactions on social media as many speculated that the actor was mentally unstable while others claimed the video was from a movie set. However, the actor who reacted to the video accused people of trying to destroy his image.
Hanks Anuku, however, claimed he had been on set and the pictures and videos were being used to tarnish his reputation.
He wrote: “Tell all these motherf*ckers who write crap about me to stop writing about me and leave me alone. If they wanna act in the movie, they can Come to me. I’ve been on set and anyone using those pictures and videos on set to try and destroy my image, may the holy spirit forgive you.”
