My absence allowed Majid Michel and John Dumelo to shine

For many years in the early 2000’s Van Vicker was the face of the movie industry and there was a huge crave for every movie he was featured in. But as time went by, he fizzled and wasn’t seen as much which also coincidentally became the time when Majid Michel and John Dumelo began the rise to stardom. In retrospect of what happened, Van reveals that his actions was for the good of the industry at that time;

“I can confidently say that my shift has paved the way for other actors to shine. Since I left the Ghanaian movie scene, the likes of Majid Michel, John Dumelo and others have had the chance to shine.”

He said that once an actor is recognized as good by the viewing public, movie producers always want to use that actor in their movies and that can get monotonous.

“When our local players get the chance to play for foreign clubs, we applaud them for making it, why can’t the same be done for movies? Why do many actors aspire to go to Hollywood? It is simply because they want to extend their horizons and that is exactly what I have done”, Van Vicker explained.

Asked whether it wasn’t the prospect of a stiff competition that made him move away, Van Vicker who has countless movies such as Beyonce – The President’s Daughter, Darkness of Sorrow, Mummy’s Daughter, The Return of Beyonce, American Boy, I Hate Women, Innocent Soul, In the Eyes of My Husband, Princess Tyra, Royal War, Twilight Sisters, Total Love, River of Tears, Jealous Princess, Corporate Maid and Friday Night to his credit said it wasn’t because of competition.

“Divine Love featured A- List actors from Ghana but after it was premiered in Nigeria, the producers over there liked my acting and decided they want to use me in their movies,” Van said.

The handsome actor who won Best Actor at last year’s Ghana Movie Awards, said he believed the experience he acquired in Nigeria has encouraged him to come up with his own production company, Sky+ Orange, which has so far produced five movies.

Asked if he was made an offer to choose between a Ghanaian and Nigerian movie, both at a given time, which one would he go for, Van Vicker said he would weigh the two and see which one was a good movie before he decided.

“I would go through the two scripts and see which one is better before I decide. I wouldn’t say I am shooting for Ghana because it is my country or Nigeria because I am famous there, but I would consider a good script first”.

Van Vicker started out in the entertainment world in radio as a presenter and Television Personality, before the chance arrived for his first movie in “Divine Love” as a supporting character. This film coincidentally was also the debut roles for fellow actors Jackie Appiah and Majid Michel who were cast in the female and male lead respectively.