Nollywood actor Osita Iheme, popularly known as Pawpaw, has made a global list of people who became internet legends through viral moments linked to their childhood.
However, there is a funny detail about his inclusion. Pawpaw was already an adult when he became famous.
Pawpaw joins global viral legends
A post shared by a foreign social media account, REALIBITY, placed Iheme alongside famous internet personalities and meme figures.
The list includes Success Kid, Bad Luck Brian and Side-Eyeing Chloe. They became widely known after their childhood photos or videos went viral online.
Pawpaw’s story is quite different.
Iheme was already 25 when he rose to fame after starring alongside Chinedu Ikedieze in the 2002 Nollywood blockbuster Aki na Ukwa.
Iheme played the mischievous character Pawpaw. Ikedieze played Aki.
The two actors became popular for playing child characters despite being adults. Their small stature also led to them being cast in several children’s roles.
How Pawpaw became an internet meme
Years after their movies became popular, scenes from the films found a new life online.
Clips, screenshots and facial expressions from Iheme’s movies became popular reaction memes. Internet users began using them to express different emotions.
The memes showed emotions such as confusion, frustration, excitement and disbelief.
By 2019, memes featuring Iheme and Ikedieze had become a major part of internet culture. Their images also gained attention outside Nigeria.
International brands and media outlets joined internet users in sharing the memes.
PUNCH previously described Iheme as one of the Nollywood actors who had become a major part of Nigerian meme culture. The publication noted how internet users often use his expressions from old movies to add humour to online conversations.
Why Pawpaw’s inclusion is different
Other people on the viral list became famous from moments that happened during their childhood.
Sam Griner, known as Success Kid, became an internet meme after his mother shared his photograph as a toddler.
Kyle Craven became known as Bad Luck Brian after his school yearbook photograph became a meme.
Chloe Clem became known as Side-Eyeing Chloe after a 2013 video showed her reaction to a surprise Disneyland trip.
Pawpaw, however, did not become famous from a childhood photograph or video.
His internet fame came years after he had established himself as a Nollywood actor. Old scenes from his movies were later rediscovered and turned into popular reaction memes.
So, while the internet has placed Pawpaw alongside famous viral kids, Nigerians know the real gist: Pawpaw was already a grown man. He was simply playing the role of a child.
More than two decades after Aki na Ukwa, Iheme remains one of Nollywood’s most recognisable faces.
Leave a Reply