Every truly great film has a secret weapon. That actor you do not really notice at first, but whose absence would change everything. They are the ones who absorb the tension, give the lead someone real to push against, and make you believe the whole world of the story. Supporting actors are the invisible architecture that holds everything together.
This year at AMVCA 12, that category is stacked. The 12th edition of the African Movie Academy Awards has pulled together eight nominations that tell you something important about where Nigerian cinema is right now. There are first-time nominees arriving on the back of performances that just demanded to be seen. There are veterans coming back with fresh work that proves they are absolutely not going anywhere. And there is history being made in real time.
The ceremony happens on May 9th at the Eko Hotel and Suites in Lagos. But before the envelopes get opened, let us talk about the people inside them.
Start with Sinmileoluwa Hassan in "The Yard." This is his first AMVCA nomination ever, and he walked through the door with something special. "The Yard" is the kind of story where the hero becomes the villain so gradually that you do not notice when it happens. Hassan sits right in the middle of that moral collapse, bringing a measured, grounded presence to a narrative that asks brutal questions about loyalty and survival. The series itself picked up nominations for Best Scripted M-Net Original and Best Series Scripted. Hassan's arrival at AMVCA feels like watching a director spot talent nobody else has quite seen yet.
Then there is Lateef Adedimeji, and this is where things get genuinely historic. He is nominated twice in the Best Supporting Actor category. Twice. For "Gingerrr" and for "Red Circle." On top of that, he is nominated for Best Lead Actor for "Lisabi: A Legend Is Born." That is three acting nominations in one year. "Gingerrr" itself leads the entire 2026 race with nine nominations total, following a group of women navigating love and friendship. Adedimeji's work in it requires a kind of subtlety that does not announce itself. He was executive producer on "Lisabi: The Uprising" when it won Best Indigenous Language Film at AMVCA 2025, but an acting win has escaped him. This could be his moment.
Femi Adebayo is back with "Agesinkole 2," returning to the legend of the King of Thieves. He created this character in the 2022 original, and now the sequel places him in Supporting Actor territory even though he is the mythic force driving the narrative forward. This is a heavyweight champion arriving. He won Best Lead Actor at the 2025 AMVCA for "Seven Doors," so he knows what it feels like to get called to that stage.
Gabriel Afolayan comes in as the defending champion. He won Best Supporting Actor last year for "Inside Life," and now he is back with "Colours of Fire," a fantasy epic where his character's choices ripple outward and shape everything that comes after. Coming back to back in a competitive category like this is not easy. It means the work was so good they could not ignore it twice.
Bucci Franklin, Uzor Arukwe, Kenneth Okonkwo, Kunle Remi, and Seun Akiniyalejo round out the field. Each of them has a story, a film, a performance that earned them a seat at this table. Each of them represents something different about what Nigerian cinema is doing right now.
What makes this category special is that it is not about who has the biggest name. It is about who vanishes into their role so completely that you forget you are watching an actor. It is about who makes the lead actor better. It is about who you find yourself thinking about days after the credits roll.
On May 9th, one of these eight will take the stage and hold that award. But honestly, watching this category play out might be more interesting than knowing the answer.
