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Michael O. Ejoor’s portrayal of Onome in Kemi Adetiba’s gripping crime thriller To Kill A Monkey has quickly cemented him as one of Nollywood’s most talked-about actors in 2025.
What makes his role even more intriguing is the irony that the character he plays shares his real first name Onome.
The intensity of the performance and the film’s impact have left audiences both awed and unsettled, making Ejoor’s name synonymous with layered betrayal and magnetic screen presence.
Since the film’s release, Ejoor’s life has shifted dramatically. At a recent funeral, strangers recognized him not just as an actor but as Onome, emotionally confronting him with lines like “Thank you for playing Onome” and even shouting “betrayer” in reference to his character’s actions.
It’s a testament to how deeply audiences connected with his performance so much so that the lines between actor and role have begun to blur. But for Ejoor, the connection stops at the name.
The betrayal that defines Onome is not something the actor takes lightly. “Loyalty,” he says, “goes to the grave, even when there’s a dissolution of friendship.” That moral distinction became crucial in navigating a role that demanded empathy, subtlety, and internal conflict.
The journey to playing Onome wasn’t a direct one. Ejoor had to humble himself and attend an open audition in 2022 after initially hoping for a closed call through his industry contacts.
He arrived before 3 a.m., only to find himself tenth in line. During the audition process, he never even read for Onome instead, he performed scenes meant for another character, Efemini.
It was Kemi Adetiba’s keen directorial eye that spotted something deeper in Ejoor’s approach. Her message via Instagram“I have a character for you… Just don’t let me down”was both validating and daunting. From there, Onome was born.
What made Onome compelling to Ejoor wasn’t just the shared name. It was the character’s humanity his flaws, his ambition, his emotional volatility. Ejoor could relate to the feeling of being overlooked and the temptation to cut corners when hard work seems unrewarded.
But the actor never crossed the same moral lines. He saw Onome as a man who simply lost his way, and his goal was to show audiences that even the worst decisions can come from a place of deep frustration and fear.
The emotional crux of the film hinges on Onome’s betrayal of Mo, played by veteran actress Bimbo Akintola. For Ejoor, filming those scenes was especially difficult.
The two share a real-life friendship, making the on-screen betrayal feel oddly personal. “I had to keep emotionally separating myself,” he said. “You’re not doing this to her. You’re doing it to the character.” Their off-screen bond, however, helped build the trust necessary to carry such emotionally volatile scenes.
Working with Kemi Adetiba also shaped Ejoor’s performance in lasting ways. He describes her as a director who doesn’t micromanage but instead guides with intuition and emotion.
“She didn’t tell you how to act. She told you how to feel,” he explained. One word from her “hurt,” “shock,” or “rage”could transform an entire scene. Her attention to every actor, regardless of screen time, gave Ejoor the confidence to own his role fully.
Ultimately, Ejoor hopes audiences see Onome not as a villain, but as a warning. “He wasn’t a bad person.
He made bad choices,” he insists. Through this role, Ejoor not only delivered a standout performance but also sparked a broader conversation about ethics, ambition, and identity in modern Nigeria. For an actor still climbing, To Kill A Monkey may well be the turning point that changes everything.
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