Veteran Nollywood actress, Patience Ozokwo, popularly known as Mama G, has once again addressed why she is so frequently cast as a witch, a wicked mother-in-law or a scheming villain in Nigerian films, describing the recurring typecast as something far bigger than a career choice.

Speaking during a live-streamed interview hosted by content creator Carter Efe on Monday, the 67-year-old screen icon said she believes the niche was handed to her by a higher power rather than chosen by her. She explained that her personal aversion to injustice, conflict and wrongdoing is precisely what she channels into portraying characters who embody those very vices, so that audiences can see the consequences play out on screen.

According to her, every “wicked” character she plays is deliberately layered with a moral lesson, built around the idea that actions eventually catch up with those who commit them, whether for good or ill.

The clip from the interview quickly went viral across social media, reigniting a conversation that has trailed Ozokwo for years.

She has made similar remarks in past interviews, insisting that her portrayals of witches, cruel stepmothers and manipulative in-laws are not reflections of who she is in real life, but a deliberate craft aimed at exposing societal ills that many people would rather ignore.

She has previously said she takes pride in the discomfort her characters stir up, noting that audiences often struggle to separate her from the roles precisely because she commits so fully to them.

Ozokwo’s association with villainous roles dates back to the early years of her acting career, which began in 1999. Over more than two decades in the industry, she has built a reputation as one of Nollywood’s most recognisable faces, winning the Africa Movie Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in both 2012 and 2013.

Fans have occasionally told her that her performances left a lasting impression on them as children, with some describing her films as the ones that “traumatised” their childhood, comments she has responded to with humour rather than offence.

Despite the intensity of her on-screen persona, the actress maintains that she is a completely different person off camera, an ordained evangelist and family woman with ten children. She continues to

describe her wicked-role niche as a calling she embraces fully, rather than a burden she has learned to live with.

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