Famous Ghanaian actress and television host Nana Ama McBrown has reflected on the difficult path that shaped her career. She revealed that she once endured being slapped by a film director on set but refused to give up on her dream of becoming a successful actress.
Speaking in a recent interview with Anita Akuffo on TV3, McBrown said the journey to success in the entertainment industry is built on patience, preparation and resilience. According to her, opportunities often arrive unexpectedly, making it important for aspiring talents to always be ready.
“I just feel like everything is time, and within the time, you have to prepare yourself because you don’t know where the opportunity will come from. I never thought I would be here one day, but I was prepared for it,” she said.
McBrown also revealed that she never received formal acting education, explaining that her skills were developed through years of hands-on experience on movie sets rather than in a classroom.
“I never had any practice from the School of Performing Arts; I took it from the street. I studied this game on set and fortunately for me, I had the right man to follow, who was Miracle Films. I decided to stay with that man for about seven years,” she stated.
She said her desire to master every aspect of the profession pushed her to remain a student of the craft, even after she had become one of Ghana’s most recognisable actresses. Instead of relying solely on her fame, she continued working behind the scenes, determined to learn everything she could.
“Even though I was popular, you would still come and meet me ironing costumes of people who had never been on TV. I could have stopped when I gained popularity, but I felt like I needed to study him and know it better so that when the opportunity came for me to be on my own, I would be ready,” she explained.
Addressing young people hoping to break into acting or television, McBrown urged them to make good use of social media as a platform to showcase their talent while remaining disciplined and patient throughout the process.
“Right now, the opportunities are out there on social media that you can even start on your own for people to recognize you. It doesn’t come easy. It’s not because you’re beautiful and you have makeup on. You need God’s favour, His blessings and you need to pray for that,” she shared.
She further observed that spending many years on television does not necessarily guarantee widespread recognition, saying consistency alone is not enough without favour and purpose.
“People have been on TV for 20 years and can’t be recognised aside from their family members. They wear the best outfits and attend programmes but still don’t get the recognition. In all of this, just pray,” she added.
Looking back on the toughest moments of her early career, McBrown recounted how she endured both harsh criticism and physical abuse on set because she was determined not to let anything derail her ambition.
“Some people can’t stand pressure, but in this line of work, there’s a lot of pressure. It starts from the beginning when you decide to be an actress or a TV host. Our director slapped me twice on set and I continued working. He shouted at some people and they never returned to the set again, but I stayed after taking the slap. I knew I wanted to be there, so nothing stopped me,” she recalled.
Watch the interview below.
