MY ACCENT DIDN'T STOP ME FROM SUCCESS

Even though actor, Eddie Watson, has the looks and passion for the movie screen, one impediment that he has had to deal with on the rather competitive movie scene has been his Liberian accent.

Eddie’s problem with accent is a common one among top actors all over the world.

British actors such as Hugh Laurie, Kate Winslet, Idris Elba, Sonya Walger and Christian Bale all had to overcome their accent to win over Hollywood.

In an interview with Showbiz last week, Eddie Watson spoke about his handicap. “One thing that I have had to deal with and overcome has been my accent. It was not easy for me but I was determined to get to where I am today so I did all I could to get rid of that.

“When I began acting, the accent made my speech very different and sometimes, I had friends making a mockery of me, but I never allowed the teasing to get to me and I am grateful that all is in the past now. I couldn’t have achieved it if I was not passionate about acting and determined to get all things right”.

In response to how he was able to get over his accent, he said “I did some research and with the outcome, I started working on pronouncing the English words properly by reading aloud a lot.

“In fact, I read anything I could lay my hands on and I made sure I took my time to speak whenever I was learning my lines in a dialogue”.

According to the actor, his accent did not really deny him of securing movie roles in the early stages of his career but he knew that if he would be successful in his career, he needed to drop his Liberian accent.

“No one has ever told me to my face that I would not get a role because of my accent. But I will not rule out the likelihood that it could have been said behind my back because there were lots of complains about the whole accent thing from producers and directors when I started”, he said.

He said he was happy that, he did not sit and watch things go wrong but rather worked on improving his accent and that was why he was still in the acting business.

“It wasn’t an easy journey for me and I do not think I would be where I am today if I was still speaking the way I did at the beginning. I had a passion for my job and I didn’t want my accent to be a problem that producers and directors would have to deal with so I had to work hard at enunciating my words.

“I thank God that it did not take long for me to get my accent better. Many people back home in Liberia still don’t t believe I’m Liberian or even spent the first years of my life there.

Eddie Watson is a Liberian by nationality and a Ghanaian movie actor by career. He was born in Monrovia, Liberia, and went through his entire academic education including university in Liberia.

He lived in Liberia all through the 14 years civil war and re-located to Ghana in 2008. He is married to Mrs. Naomi Watson and they have a daughter.

He shot his first movie project, Jack & Jill, which featured actors, Livinus Nnochiri, Ruth Kadiri, Roselyn Ngissah, Naomi Baaba Watson, Biola Ige among others.

He is known for movies such as Purple Rose, House of Gold, Single, Married and Complicated, 4play, 4play reloaded, Single and Married, Death after Birth, A Reason to Kill, Single 6 and Somewhere in Africa.