2025 Week 40 Man Crush Monday - Jide Kene Achufusi Swanky JKA

This week, our Man Crush Monday is the celebrated Nigerian actor and model, Jideofor Kenechukwu Achufusi, better known as Swanky JKA.

Swanky’s story is quite interesting. Many people assume he started out as a model, but that wasn’t his plan at all. Acting was his first love. As he tells it, someone once invited him for what he thought was a movie audition, but it turned out to be a modeling gig. Thanks to his height and strong physique, the modeling path opened up for him. Still, he never lost sight of acting and kept taking supporting roles in films like Poka Messiah, Black Rose, Pretty Little Thing, Ofu Obi, and A Lonely Lane.

His big break came in 2019 when he played Nnamdi Okeke in Living in Bondage: Breaking Free. That role shot him into the spotlight and earned him recognition across Nollywood. Since then, he’s also become well known for playing Chidi in Kambili: The Whole 30 Yards and also Emeka in Funke Akindele A Tribe Called Judah which went on to become the biggest cinema movie in 2024 both in hype and grossing.

The awards and nominations soon followed. Swanky won the Trailblazer Award at the 2020 AMVCA, and at the Best of Nollywood Awards, he bagged both Revelation of the Year (Male) and Best Actor in a Leading Role (English) for Living in Bondage: Breaking Free. In 2021, he was named Most Popular Actor at Net Honours.

But beyond acting, Swanky has big dreams. By 2031, he hopes to build a massive international-standard film studio in Enugu, similar to Tyler Perry’s studios in Atlanta. His goal is to attract investors to the state, create opportunities for young people, and make films that can compete on the global stage. He even dreams of bringing Hollywood stars like Dwayne Johnson to Nigeria, the same way Idris Elba has connected with African talent.

Although he admits he enjoys Lagos, he feels it’s too stressful and not the best place for filmmaking. For him, Enugu is home, and he wants it to be the hub of his creative empire.

Away from the spotlight, Swanky is also an academic. He studied Geography and Meteorology at Enugu State University of Science and Technology before fully pursuing his career in the entertainment industry.

Swanky JKA isn’t just an actor; he’s a dreamer, a trailblazer, and a man determined to take Nollywood to greater heights.