The voice of a generation – Ifeanyi Dike Jr

Lena Dunham, Aziz Ansari, Donald Glover, Issa Rae and now, Ifeanyi Dike Jr all have one thing in common. Well, several things. They are young, they are actors, they are creators and they are the voice of their generation.

It is no surprise that when asked who his heroes are, he responded with the aforementioned names, all auteurs who wrote, produced and starred in their own shows all before the age of 35. The only difference, when you ask Ifeanyi Dike Jr, is that ‘they have opportunity by virtue of their proximity to Hollywood.’  Thankfully this seemingly stumbling block will no longer be an issue with the amount of powerful Hollywood insiders taking a deserved interest in Ifeanyi DIke Jr’s talent and work. His stellar education at UCLA as the first African and his outing at TIFF has drawn him even closer to the desk of those that matter in tinsel town.

Dike tells you, ‘All dreams are valid. You should fight for your dreams.  but in the same breath tells you that ‘it really is hard out there. It took a lot of time and patience.’ Patience in fact pays off because if ifeanyi Dike Jr’s trajectory is anything to go by, he will soon be landing his own ABC or CBS show and will be the first African to do so and will soon be mentioned in the same sentence as his idol, Donald Glover.

Ifeanyi began his career as an actor at the age of 21 and did a lot of writing on the way. Having been on the biggest shows out of MTV, Ebony LIfe, Disney, MNET and now Netflix, he says ‘my plan is to be lead or series regular of a Network show. Just the right one that accentuates the fusion of my culture and American culture. And then from there, I’ll create and star in my own show on Netflix since there’s already a relationship there.’ The young star seems to already have a set plan for the next 10 years and we are in on the ride albeit for the selfish reason that he will cementing Africa on the world map because a win for Dike is a win for the nation and continent. Having already achieved the highest honours on this end of the world, Dike dares to do what no one else before him has done for fear of failure perhaps, but if there is anyone to do it, with an impressive repertoire and the training to back it up, it should be Ifeanyi Dike Jr.

When asked if this means he’ll be saying goodbye to Nollywood for good, he says ‘I’m an actor period and a good script is a good script and while I’d be based out of Los Angeles, I will go wherever the work takes me.’

It is bravado like this that sets the star apart as a distinguished voice of his generation, ready to tell the world about his roots and he is well on his way to doing so. We’ll just sit here and relax and wait for that photo up with Donald Glover.