Nollywood Actor James Okelue Reveals Why He Abandoned His Family Name, Chose ‘Jim Iyke’

James Ikechukwu Okelue, better known as Jim Iyke, a popular Nollywood actor, has finally revealed why he jettisoned his family name and came up with his own different name.

The Nollywood ‘bad boy’ as he is fondly called made the revelation in an interview with Tea with Tay podcast host, Temisan Emmanuel, which was published on Friday, 28th January.

The actor stated that he wanted to build a brand for himself that was distinct from that of his family, noting that he and his six sisters do not have the same last name.

Sharing the story behind the change of name, the movie star said,, “We don’t share the same last name. My real name is James Ikechukwu Esomughua Okelue. Okelue is my great grandfather’s name and everybody goes with that last name.

“Of course, from day one I figured that part out before if I knew what was going on in the industry.

“I said that if I’m going to embark on this journey, I’m going to go alone. I’m going to go through the trials and ups and downs that comes with this journey and if it works, I’ll be the centre of it.

“If it doesn’t, I’d have exempted this people from whatever comes with it.

“I’ve had that strategy from day one and now, there’s an extension of it to my next generation; my sons.

“I said, how about if I’m so famous and I can’t walk around in public places, what would happen to my relationship with my sisters?”

This, he claims, fueled his determination to change his name to something unrelated to that of his family.

“I took that decision then and said, ‘you know what? What can I take away from my name?’ James – Jim; Ikechukwu – Iyke. And that was it. Jim Iyke was born,” the thespian said.

Meanwhile, Jim Iyke also explained that he doesn’t follow any accounts on Instagram because he wants to keep his family and personal life out of the spotlight.