Kenyan producers defend Nigerian actor

Kenyan movie producers have revealed that auditions for the role of Jack Zollo in upcoming thriller ‘My Life In Crime’, started more than three years ago.Actress Janet Kirina, whose idea it was to come up with the film was unsuccessful at the begin, and only managed to secure funding after working severally on the script with co-producers Neil Schell and Lucy Chodota.Reacting to concerns by a section of the public on why a Kenyan was not cast in the lead role, the filmmakers say that of all those who auditioned, Nigerian actor Jim Iyke came out on top.Iyke is said to have even hired an accent coach prior to his audition, and the much touted Edi Gathegi of the Twilight fame did not audition for the role.The movie - for which shooting starts in September - will be based on three novels that were written by criminal turned author John Kiriamiti.The filming rights on the books; ‘My Life in Crime’, ‘My Life with a Criminal’ and ‘My Life in Prison’ have already been granted to Kirina Productions, from the East African Educational Publishers.

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Kenyan producers defend Nigerian actor