| Birth Name: | Tarila Emmanuel Thompson |
| Birth Date: | 14 February 1968 |
| Birth Place: | Lagos, Nigeria |
| Nationality: | Nigerian |
| Alma Mater: | University of Science and Technology, Port-Harcourt |
| Years Active: | 1992-present |
| Spouse: | Funto Diseye Thompson |
| Children: | 3 |
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]
Thompson was born in Lagos, Nigeria. He hails from Bayelsa State,[7] a state in the Niger-Delta region. Thompson acquired a bachelor's degree from the University of Science and Technology, Port-Harcourt.[8] He is married to Funto Diseye Thompson and has three children.
Thompson began his career in 1993 in Love without Language. Thompson said of the movie that it was at a time when people only made films in the indigenous Nigerian language.[9]
To date, Thompson has several movies, both locally and internationally, including