Renowned Nollywood actor Hanks Anuku has opened up about the significant toll a viral video took on his professional and personal life.
The video, which emerged in 2022, misleadingly portrayed Anuku as mentally unstable, showing him in ragged clothes and apparently talking to himself, sparking widespread concern about his mental well-being.
Nollywood actress Shan George quickly refuted these claims, insisting that Anuku was not mentally unstable. However, the rumors had already inflicted considerable damage.
In a recent interview with content creator Lucky Udu, which gained attention on Sunday, Anuku explained that the footage was actually from a movie set.
He was preparing for a role that required him to play a character with mental instability and was immersing himself in the environment to deliver an authentic performance.
“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,” Hanks Anuku explained.
“So, I naturally visited the environment to understand how to portray it in that same neighborhood. I was merely following the director’s vision, meditating, and getting into character.”
Anuku denied rumors of drug use and illness, emphasizing that he is of sound mind.
“They said a lot of stuff. They said I was sick, on drugs. I am not sick, I was not on drugs, maybe they saw me depressed. Depression can bring stress. But me being on drugs, that’s not true: I am not a madman, I am very sane.”
The actor lamented the fallout from the video, which led to a loss of friendships, job opportunities, and income.
“I lost friends, producers stopped contacting me for roles. I lost a lot of money and became jobless. People didn’t care about me. It was by God’s grace that I found a good soul to help me,” he shared.
Reflecting on the painful experience, Hanks Anuku expressed his deep sorrow over the ordeal. “I went through pain. If you were in my shoes, you would feel it. I was heartbroken that people could do this to me.”
