Fast Rising Actor, ADEDOLAMU AWOLOWO
If you were meeting Adedolamu Awolowo for the first time, one of the first things that would strike you about him is his charming personality. He has a very likeable personality that makes people want to draw close to him. His tall, towering frame and good looks also make him very noticeable anywhere he steps into. You can’t miss him in a room full of people. But apart from his striking figure, Adedolamu Emmanuel Awolowo is a hugely talented actor and Movie Director. He has worked with some of the best hands in the movie industry both as an actor and director. One of his stand out performannces was his role as the legendary Ooni of Ife in a yet to be released movie which chronicles the reign, so far, of the current Ooni, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi.
Two weeks ago, the very confident and affable actor visited the City People office at Gbagada, Lagos. He spent quality time sharing his experiences and aspirations as an actor and movie director with City People Senior Editor, WALE LAWAL (08037209290). He also explained the pressure that comes with carrying his surname, Awolowo, being a part of the Awolowo lineage. Here are excerpts of the interview.
We are very, very delighted to have you. Tell us a bit about where you were born and where were you raised.
Adedolamu Awolowo was born in Ibadan, Oyo State. We moved from Ibadan, Oyo State, to Lagos about 4 decades ago. And after our movement, I finished my primary school education in Unique Children’s School, Omole Estate. I had my secondary school also at Unique Heights after which, I went to the tertiary education where I studied Theatre Arts. But before I was done, I’d gone into the movie industry.
The late Yomi Ogunmola was my first boss in the movie industry and he taught me directing. He loved the practical side of the profession than the theoretical. So, it was so easy for me because I’d gone to school to study Theatre Arts, so, going to the field and learning those things in practical was easy. After his demise in the year 2003, September, 2003, to be precise, I joined the Muyiwa Authentic Presentation, which is the Muyiwa Ademola Authentic group and I was there for years. Right now, I’m on my own, I do more of acting, directing.
I was formerly into script writing, but script writing takes a whole lot of time and attention. You have to separate yourself from a lot of activities and I had a lot of things going on for me, so, I had to step back from script writing to focus on directing and acting alone, that’s what I do at the moment.
Let’s go back to your early days before you got into the movies. Was it the fact that you studied Theatre Arts that inspired you to go into acting or you always knew you were going to end up as an actor?
From my early days, I’ve always wanted to become an Actor. Even when I was in my primary four, I built a generator from scratch. Then, people would tend to tell me to go into Science class. They’ll say, ah, no, you’ll be good in science class, go and read Engineering. So, I said, okay, I was going to read Aeronautical Engineering because I believed that even if I read Aeronautical Engineering, I could still go back into acting. So, in my primary school, I was in drama club back then. In my secondary school, I was in drama club as well. Then, when I was about to finish my secondary school, I joined Yomi Ogunmola because acting was always what I wanted to do. I’m a very reserved person, but I love to bring to reality what people think is not possible. So, with me, people used to say there is no impossibility. That’s why my motto in life is that I don’t accept defeat. So, whatever you tell me is not possible, I will look into it and tell you it is possible. In as much as it is something positive, I will tell you it is possible.
So, since I was young, I wanted to. So, when I got to my first one, my principal told me, he said, Emmanuel, go back to Art class. You are better in Art class. When I was going to write my WAEC, my elder sister said, no, you must write as a science student. So, I wrote as a science student and made my papers. I wrote GCE for Arts and made my papers. So, by then, we were struggling because I came from a broken home. We were struggling then,, so, they could not send me to the university. So, I had to go to the university myself without the family knowing by doing catering job, shoemaking and lots of stuff like that. I was a cobbler. At other times, I would get ushers and carry them to parties. i cooked for parties. I didn’t go to a catering school, but when my mom cooked, my mom is a very good cook, so, when she cooked in the kitchen, we must be there even if you are a man. So, with my bare hands, I can grind pepper on a grinding stone. It was those things that helped me through my university days.
What was your very first movie? Were there any major productions that you did with Muyiwa Ademola and what’s your relationship with him?
I did Owo Okuta with Muyiwa. I did Abegbe, I have done a whole lot with Muyiwa. We are still in touch. He still comments on my posts and i comment on his. I recognize him as my boss and he is in fact. But the fact is, after I left him, I’ve done a whole lot of productions. I’ve done a whole lot of jobs. I’ve done a whole lot in directing. Even in the media sector, I’ve done a whole lot because I’m the kind of person, that when acting is not forthcoming, directing is not forthcoming, as a man, I can’t be idle, so, I try my hands on a few other things. So, a little of blogging, a little of journalism, a little of media, a little of real estate, a little of this and that. An idle mind is the devil’s work shop, so I try to do a whole lot to keep myself busy. I’ve done a whole lot of productions. I’ve done a whole lot, I’ve participated in lots of movies after leaving Muyiwa in 2008. I must have taken part in more than a hundred movies.
There is one that’s yet to be released that was done for Ooni of Ife. It’s a movie that highlights what the Ooni has done in the last few years that he ascended the throne of his forebears and I was the lead actor. I took the role of Ooni. There are also a lot of other movies coming up in which I took the role of Ooni. I also produced a movie in 2016. But, you know, in our industry, a whole lot is involved. There are no investors. Those investors that we have, those who have been there before, have destroyed the image of the so-called upcoming ones. Some people who love to invest in our industry are not interested anymore because they have had very unpleasant experience. But I do my acting, I do my directing, and I’m still going to produce.
The movie you talked about, the ones that revolves around the Ooni, who produced that movie?
He’s a gentleman called Tunde Adesoye, but I was called by the Director, and that’s Yomi Amodu, who directed the movie and we have been waiting for it to be released. But when I discussed with the producer, he said they were doing some underground work. We’ve done the premiere in Osogbo.
Who were some of the other top actors that featured in the movie?
The movie featured Peju Ogunmola, Yinka Salau was in it, the Nepa Boys back then, were in it. A whole lot of actors were in it. Taiwo Hassan was there, Baba Aderu poko was in it, a whole lot of artists were in it because it was a very big production. It was shot in Ile- Ife. So, I was in Ile-Ife for about three weeks of shooting.
Which one has been the most recent of your own production that you directed and produced?
The most recent? Okay, the most recent is yet to be released. It’s going to be shown very soon. It’s an African Magic production. One is titled, Curiosity and Iwaloba. I directed it. It was shot in February and it’s going to be released on African Magic Showcase very soon. We are still working on other productions too. A lot of scripts are on ground, ready for production, but we are still looking for investors who can invest in good stories. We have good stories on ground with top-notch directors, but you know, people tend to underrate us upcoming directors because they’ve not seen what we can do on the big screen. People tend to follow only those who have made a name for themselves. But when we see investors, then we can really tell them we can do what those big names are doing. We can even do more than they are doing with all due respect.
The trend now seems to be moving towards the big screen, cinema movies. That’s become the standard. Everyone wants to have their productions on Netflix, it’s either that or you are doing something on YouTube. How would you say that has impacted positively, especially the upcoming producers?
You know something, the Yoruba arm of Nollywood was underrated. I can categorically say that the Yoruba movie directed by Muyideen S. Ayinde and I think it was produced by Iyabo Ojo back then. I remember it was shot in Ghana and it was in Nigeria. That movie was one of the first sets of Yoruba movies that made it to the Cinemas because back then, Yoruba movies were not allowed in the cinemas. They were underrated. It was either English movies or Yoruba movies. But people like Femi Adebayo and Funke Akindele studied the market and broke the jinx. But I tell you, if the upcoming producers can have access to funds to produce big budget movies, they will do a whole lot better.
There is a work in the cinema right now and I took one of the sub-leads, its titled Ori Ade Fadaka. I acted alongside top stars such as Antar Laniyan, Bimbo Akintola, Jaiye Kuti and Jide Kosoko. A lot of the veterans were all on that set. It was a very great set. Sam Oluwole Jagunlabi directed it and it’s a top film. As a producer, the movie challenged me to do more. So, right now, it’s either you shoot a high quality standard movie for YouTube and try to do very strong PR to draw traffic to that film, or you spend your millions on cinema and Netflix, it’s either you do that or you pack it all up. We are no more in the era of sub-standard stories. We are no more in the era of sub-standard pictures.We are no more in the era of sub-standard audio. It’s all about high quality now.
The movie I directed in February, we shot 4K raw. My crew and I and the producer worked round the clock. We would start working as early as 7am in the morning. We finish production around 4am the next morning. Peter Ijagbemi and Yetunde Odunsi were on my set. They said, ‘Awolowo, we enjoyed your set but your set is the most stressful. Please, when you have production next time, call me. I enjoyed it. There was a lot of fun but we were working and we never lost sight of that high standard that we wanted to achieve.
Who were some of the big names, some of the star actors who inspired you as a young upcoming actor and made you want to be able to interpret roles like them?
First is Taiwo Hassan Ogogo. He’s a fantastic actor. Muyiwa Ademola, he’s a fantastic actor as well. Funsho Adeolu and Yomi Fash Lanso are also two great actors I admire. But you know what, I only love their acting, but I don’t want to act like them.I want to be my own person as an actor and have my own original style. I don’t want people to tell me, you’re acting like Odunlade Adekola,because the glory will still go back to him. So, when people say, oh, that guy is good, he acts well. This guy is good, he directs well. Not that he acts like Lateef Adedimeji, that means I am not getting my full credit yet. So, its important to me that I create my own style, my own niche. .
Can you share with us a bit about that powerful lineage you come from, the Awolowo lineage? How has it impacted on your career? How do people react when they hear that you are from the Awolowo family?
Okay, the truth is this, people who are from the Awolowo family where I come from are inspired but I am not so inspired. In fact, very recently, I thought of changing my surname and that’s because, I felt Obafemi Awolowo made a name for himself, let me also make a name for myself that my children will be proud of. As influential as the name Awolowo can be, it has its ups and downs.His children have their own ups and downs. But still, coming from that lineage, I would still say I’m very proud of the name. There are different families that bear Awolowo. There are some Awolowo in Oyo.I heard of one Awolowo from Osun. We are from Ijebu. So, all of them are Awolowo. Yes, the name has that attraction, it makes people pay a lot more attention to me and to what I do, so it has its own pressure but I am coping very well.
