Nollywood icon Alexx Ekubo has passed away at the age of 40 following a battle with cancer, according to family. The confirmation came through on Monday, May 11, 2026, and by evening the Nigerian entertainment industry had basically stopped to process it. A decade of film credits will do that.
A lot of people outside Nigeria first encountered him through Yemi Alade‘s Johnny video. Fair enough, that thing was everywhere. Inside Nollywood the reputation was already something different and longer. He was someone who could anchor a romantic comedy, hold the emotional center of a drama, and not disappear in an ensemble. That combination is rarer than it sounds.
Before the remembrances get too soft and polished, here is the actual work. The films and the roles. The decade that built Alexx Ekubo into one of those names that kept showing up on Nollywood posters, whether the story was comedic or not.
What movies made Alexx Ekubo a major Nollywood name?
Acting was not where Alexx Ekubo began his career. The star came runner up at Mr. Nigeria in 2010, which is a lane that usually does not lead to a serious screen career. He made it lead there – two films in 2012.
One is Weekend Getaway, where he played Andre Dikeh, a character that landed him Best Actor in a Supporting Role at the 2013 Best of Nollywood Awards. Not bad for a first real year.
In the Cupboard the same twelve months, this time as a character named Tega, heavier stuff, less charm work and more actual acting.Lagos Cougars, in 2013, opened up the rom-com genre for him as the lead male in a cast with veteran actresses.
His role as Chigo has been clearly defined as a huge part of his career. His portrayal of this character, regardless of whether he was considered the leading man, answered the question of whether he was a good actor, as he will be remembered by his fans for his work.
The back half of that decade got commercial. The Bling Lagosians in 2019, a satire about Lagos money and what it costs people, packed ensemble, real competition for screen time, he held his own as Nnamdi. Your Excellency came out that same year, and Funke Akindele was the director who cast him in this political comedy, which was a total fan favorite.
Then we have Omo Ghetto: The Saga in 2020 – one of the highest-grossing Nigerian films of that whole period. Power of 1 in 2018, Zero Hour in 2019, The Blood Covenant in 2022 all sit in that run too. Some actors start coasting once the credits stack up. Alexx Ekubo did not.
What did the later work say about where Alexx Ekubo was headed?
The most talked about performance in his later period came from Afamefuna: An Nwa Boi Story in 2023. A film about the traditional Igbo apprenticeship system, culturally specific, not chasing easy audiences. Critics noticed. So did the fans who had been watching him for years and saw something shift in the work.
A Sunday Affair the same year, playing a character named Femi, added to what looked like a more deliberate second chapter of his career. Less volume, but more weight. Rush Hour in 2024 was one of the last things he shot.
Where history eventually places Alexx Ekubo inside Nollywood, nobody is in a position to say cleanly right now, not with the news this fresh. What the filmography does on its own, just laid out without the tributes around it, is look bigger and more varied than people probably expected.
For an industry that handed him his first real stage, that is something. The work does not need the grief to make it matter.
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Edited by Subho Mukhopadhyay