Tarila Emmanuel Thompson (born February 14, 1968)[1] is a Nigerian actor, director, filmmaker, writer and musician. Thompson began his career in 1992 and is credited for his role in pioneering the English-speaking movie industry in Nigeria known as Nollywood.[2]
Thompson is known for Love without Language (1993), Die Another Day (2004), Passion and Pain (2004) and Church Business (2006).[3] After taking a break from filming,[4] Thompson came back in 2012 to shoot his latest film In the Creek, a film which has been tagged Africa's most expensive export.[5] The film talks about the pains of the Niger-Delta people in Nigeria. As a musician, he is the owner of El-Montage Records, a music record label.[6]