By Kevin Onuma

Van Vicker, a young and aspiring Nollywood actor cum director, 35 years of age*, is one of the most recognized faces to come out of the booming African movie industry.

According to Nigeria Movie Network, Joseph Van Vicker was born on August 1, 1977, and he is proud of his unique heritage; he is of Dutch, Liberian, and Ghanaian descent.

Joseph Van Vicker is of Dutch, Liberian, and Ghanaian descent.

Van Vicker’s first movie was Divine Love in 2004, where he played a supporting character. Due to the strength and attention his performance garnered in his first movie appearance, Mr. Lover boy – Van Vicker has been on every movie director’s role call for romance films. A role that all his fans have grown to love dearly.

Mind you that Van Vicker was already in the entertainment industry before landing his first and breakthrough movie. He was once both a radio and television personality, and worked for Metropolitan Television (Metro TV) for some years before fortunately landing a deal for Ghana’s television series, Suncity – a movie about university life. The TV series ran for a total of 10 episodes, and can still be found in DVD/VCD formats in the classic section of your local movie stores in Ghana.

Today, Van has advanced his skills and career in both film work and charity, just to name a few. He owns and manages two divisions of Sky + Orange: first an advertising agency and event management company, and the other division – a movie production firm for producing Van Vicker films; BabeTown, a popular unisex barber shop; and the Van Vicker Foundation, an outreach program for upcoming young artists.

Van Vicker’s philanthropic heart through his Van Vicker Foundation (VVF) is a good trail that every Nollywood actor should endeavor to follow. The foundation’s website states that its vision is “To support and inspire kids and youths to develop their psychomotor and conceptual skills with the aim of making them become productive leaders and members in society and thereby restoring fore-gone culture.”

The non-profit organization announced today on its website vanvickerfoundation.org that the foundation has opportunities available this summer for those willing to volunteer their time and creativity:

There are a variety of volunteer opportunities for ongoing programs, special projects, and specific events. During your  time, you will have the opportunity to interact with staff members and share knowledge,  get workplace mentoring and specifically tailored assignments to match the  desire to learn and gain valuable experience and also gain career advice. -Van Vicker Foundation. 

Van Vicker’s family of five; which consists of him, his wife Adjoa and three lovely children are worthy of notice. In a frequently searched photo of Van Vicker and family shown below, Van is seen glowing in happiness alongside his hard-working wife and mother of three (J’dyl , J-ian, and Van jr.):

Van Vicker in a family photo with his hard-working wife and mother of three adorable kids (J’dyl , J-ian, and Van jr.)

I believe by now, almost everyone in Africa know who Van Vicker is. If you didn’t know; Van is a loving father, humble husband, business man, great actor, and a benevolent giver with heart. He believes in possibility, making good movies, and reaching out to the poor. Van Vicker is one of the most talked about figures in the African movie industry, with fans from all over the world enjoying his films. On Van Vicker Fans Facebook page, many fans are always eager to openly express their love for Joseph Van Vicker.

One of the loyal fans of Van Vicker, Vanessa Grant from South America, posted recently on the Van Vicker Fans page wall stating that:

“I like to watch all your movies. That’s the first thing I’am looking for when I’m in a DVD store.” 

So as you can see, the love for Van Vicker movies tends to fuel the multi-award wining actor to be more creative in meeting the needs of his fans by producing high quality movies that keeps people in the industry talking.

Van Vicker’s latest movie, Hands of Time (coming soon), is a must-watch. In the movie, two sisters got separated from childhood. The elder, a sorceress and the younger, a multi millionaire gets the opportunity to meet after 25 yrs but one gets killed before the meeting. Revenge is the game but timing is everything. Watch the preview below:

The Hands of Time – A Van Vicker Film

All Van Vicker directed and produced films is being marketed in the U.S by Black Star Entertainment, and Van Vicker is urging all African movie distributors around the world to reach out to him if looking to get a share of Van Vicker film collections. He plans to dominate the U.S markets and uplift the African movie industry to higher standards.

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Kevin Onuma is Editor-in-Chief at InformAfrica, webmaster at Biomechanism, and social networking promoter from Nigeria contributing to Africa’s online presence. He also works at Nigeria Music Network and Nigeria Movie Network occasionally. He is currently working to re-develop AfricansConnect, a social network that aims to connect Africans both at home and in diaspora – promoting unity.  

*Though still 34 years old according to birth certificate; Van Vicker, who was born August 1st 1977 would be 35 years of age come August this 2012 year.