+How FEMI ADEBAYO Helped His Acting Career From The Scratch
One actor everyone is talking about right now is Mr. MACARONI He is making waves as an actor, featuring in block buster movies back to back, and he his also creating lots of sensation online with his extremely hilarious comedy skit in which he plays the role of Daddy Wa, a randy, wealthy husband to Mummy Wa and father to Motunde, his daughter. Not commonly known by his real name Debo Adedayo, Mr. Macaroni has, in the last one year or thereabout, stepped up his game. He has continued to show uncommon dedication to his craft and his intense determination to always give 100 percent commitment anytime he is on set has not gone unnoticed by producers. This is one of the things producers love about him. With Mr. Macaroni, you get nothing short of top –of-the-shelf performance. It came as no surprise to many when, in the last couple of years, his profile shot up and he began rubbing shoulders with some of the biggest names in the industry. Lately, he has consistently been playing important roles in big movie projects that have subsequently increased his ratings. One of such movie projects that have shot up his ratings lately is the highly successful movie, Jagun Jagun, produced by Femi Adebayo, whom Mr. Macaroni holds in very high esteem and shares a close relationship with. Mr. Macaroni’s role in the movie, particularly his brilliant execution of the fight scenes he was involved in drew lots of applause and accolades for him and he has also expressed his gratitude to Femi Adebayo for the opportunity.
Femi Adebayo is presently one of Nigeria’s most talented movie practitioners. He is hugely respected. And it’s not just because he is the son of the legendary Adebayo Salami, popularly known as Oga Bello, who himself has become an institution in the movie industry, but because Femi has made his own mark, emerging as one of the most accomplished actors of his generation. Femi Adebayo, over the years, has evolved from being a star actor to a super producer. His last two major productions have earned him worldwide acclaim, especially the release of his monster hit movie, Jagun Jagun. It has earned its place as one of Netflix’s most successful movies yet and has also grossed huge earnings for Femi who also doubled as the lead actor and producer of the movie. This feat has placed him on a pedestal in the movie industry that many only dream to accomplish.
But despite his monumental success as an actor, Femi Adebayo has always been a very warm and humble personality. In this interview with City People’s Senior Editor, WALE LAWAL (08037209290), reporter SHOLA ABIODUN and photographer, OLAOLU OGUNTOYINBO, Mr. Macaroni shares with us his very first meeting with Femi Adebayo on set, the lasting impression Femi left on him and why he will always respect Femi Adebayo. Enjoy the interview.
There was a time you were said to have gone celibate for about 10 years, no girlfriend, no sex…
(Cuts in) No, I wasn’t celibate, I said I was single for over ten years. And if I count the years, it’s over 12 years and I’m still single, not celibate. I have not been in a relationship for about twelve years, so that’s two different things.
So, you have gone on a self imposed relationship exile for about 12 years now?
Yes, something like that. I was confused about the concept of relationship and the entire situation like being in marriage and being in a long term commitment. It was all getting confusing to me because the way I choose to love the opposite sex, I have not gotten from relationships. I didn’t see it that way when I tried. Not until recently that I saw someone, or even about two people actually, that share the kind of love that I share for them.
Did you say two women?
Yeah, two women. But we’re not dating or anything. Number one, I cannot even have them anyways. And it’s just from the point of the fear of being vulnerable because when I love, I give my entire being. I give everything. So, if you do me dirty, it can really, really mess me up, so I just prefer to detach myself emotionally and say, lets jut see how things go first.
But this was some ten to twelve years ago, right?
Yeah, abut twelve years ago now.
But wouldn’t it be even more complicated for you now that you have the face, the fame and the bank account to manage as many relationships as you possibly want, knowing how women love to flock around celebrities?
Yes, I won’t deny that. You’re very correct. I don’t fault your submission. I won’t deny that it’s even harder and more complicated now. Though I’ve seen people that have almost the same thing I have, you kmow, the name, face and maybe the bank account, and we’ve shared loving moments and when I say loving, I mean moments of care and you feel, oh, this person cares, but it’s just me in my head that’s still being very held back, scared of not getting into emotional heartbreaks. So, I just want to be totally sure, though I know some people will tell you that you cannot be totally sure. But I think I’m just very scared, I think that’s the summary.
So, for now, marriage is not on the table for you?
No, it’s not. If my mummy should see this video now or read about this somewhere, it’s another trouble you’re putting me into (laughs). Last time she saw me say something like this, she sent me messages, she called, and was like why should you be saying things like that. I told her I was just being honest, I don’t want to tell lies when I grant interviews. I’m 30 years old right now, she doesn’t even agree that is an excuse. She believes it’s the right age to get married. I said its better I calm down and go into it when I’m totally convinced rather than jump in and jump out again shortly after.
But, how do you cope with pressure from women? I know it can’t be as easy as you’re making it sound, because as a celebrity, you have ladies flocking around you all the time.
Well, one thing I always tell myself is, Debo, you can’t sleep with all of them. How many can you sleep with? How many can you be with? So, there’s always a need for self discipline. I am not saying I’m a saint, but I’m also saying that often times, I caution myself and remind myself of the need to tread with caution. There must be some decency to it. Yes, I see babes that excite me and I say, oh, this one is my spec, but I try to be careful. When I get close to the ones that I like, I tell them lets be friends first because you don’t know what the mission of the lady is, especially the ones you just meet somewhere and is suddenly all over you. Some of them, I run away completely from. When God has placed you in a certain position, you just have to be careful.
Tell us about your experience on the set of Jagun Jagun, a lot of people were wowed by your sterling performance. You played a role that was a total departure from the roles people had seen of you and you nailed it absolutely, tell us about that experience.
Thank you very much. The experience was lovely. Femi Adebayo is one of the few producers that anytime they call I always answer. Anytime Femi Adebayo calls me up, I promptly respond and I’ll tell you why. Some few years back, during my first entry into the Yoruba movie industry, the very first experience I had with him was on the set of Obinrin by Tayo Adeniyi and directed by Titi Jeje, I can never forget. My character was a prisoner and Adebayo’s character was also a prisoner and for some reason, I wasn’t at my best. I gues it was the presence of Femi Adebayo, you know, seeing him standing right in front of me and my Yoruba wasn’t that strong. Though I speak Yoruba well, but when it gets to a level of elevated Yoruba, I struggle a bit. And when the director noticed this, he just said cut. He was not pleased with my performance. Femi Adebayo just called me to a corner and asked, what’s your name? I said Debo. He now said, calm down, don’t be scared, all of us here are actors. Don’t say because this is Femi Adebayo, we are all the same. He called me aside, away from everyone and spoke to me in the calmest manner that put me at ease. And immediately we returned to set, I got myself together and got the job done. And I was touched by that. I was like, this is great. I’ve never been treated that way before on set.
So, when I now started creating contents, he was already following me then because we were now meeting frequently on set, so I now called him up and said egbon, I have this concept o, come and marry Motunde, my daughter o, but you will now be messing, portraying that Jelili character in your movie. He laughed and we did it and everybody liked it. It was that day that I told him that, egbon, you can’t remember something that happened between us o, but I will tell you today. So, I narrated what happened to him. He couldn’t even remember. I now said, don’t worry, just keep doing good. You don’t need to remember, it’s the people that you do good to that will remember. The thing is, many people have been wondering, because sometimes I’m unavailable for some projects and sometimes, people have found my charges to be a bit high, but if it comes to Femi Adebayo, once he calls, I answer because I have not forgotten how he helped my career way back then. That was why, when he called me for Jagun Jagun, I told him, I said egbon, I am not doing comedy o, because I’m already doing comedy online, so if I want to do film, I don’t want to do comedy again. I want people to see I can also perform in another light. So, he said, don’t worry, I know what to give you. So, when he now told me about that character, I said okay, I like it and the experience on set was very good.
I was particularly impressed by your two major fight scenes. The first one at the beginning of the film where you suspected there was a spy in your midst and the very last fight scene in the movie, you executed those two scenes brilliantly. Were you involved in creating the fight sequence as well?
No, I wasn’t in all honesty. The stunt coordinator was in charge of that. He would tell us, move this way, move your hand that way, they trained us to perform those scenes. We had to go through several sessions of rehearsals to get it right. They were handled by, I think Adams and Excel, those were their names.
Jagun Jagun is everywhere, doing very well. How do you feel being a part of that monumental success?
I feel great. I feel honoured. I think I also want to do great projects like that, projects that would leave lasting impressions, not just any kind of movie. I want to do movies that will make people go wow and be happy and see their favourite actors in different dimensions and be like, oh, so this person can actually do this! I was in Ibadan last month for another project and some guys came and were like, wow! Mr. Macaroni, you fought very well! You did like this, you did like that, gesturing the way I fought in the movie. It was very funny. I really loved my experience on the set.
Do you have any personal project in the works right now?
Mine? No, not really. We are still in the talking stage, we’re still in writing stages. We are still taking our time to put something together. But, to the glory of God, in the last couple of months, I have done about four new projects, all lead roles. I am very grateful to the directors of these projects, most especially Biodun Stephen whom I’ve done three projects with playing lead characters. She said she saw something in my performances and was very impressed so she trusted me with those roles. So, I can’t wait for these set of projects to come out, like Freedom Way, so many of them, so that people can see a lot more of me.
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