Olufemi Lateef Adebayo, one of the acting kids of Oga Bello, is no doubt doing well in the film industry. His versatility, like his father’s, has endeared him to many and has equally earned him international recognition. The lawyer-cum-actor, in this interview with ISAAC OGUNTOYE, speaks on his career, and his controversy. Enjoy…
Is it true you are dumping acting for politics?
You press guys with controversies… I’m still very much in the entertainment industry. I’m not going into politics. If at all I want to delve into politics, it’s not a secret thing, everybody will know because I will need their support.
After the success of your blockbuster comedy flick, ‘Jelili’, people are expecting more from you.
Well, to the glory of God, ‘Jelili’ like you rightly said, is a success and it’s not my best because the best is yet to come. I’ve worked on a couple of projects and they are yet to be out. But the next movie after ‘Jelili’ is a complete story about the life of butchers. And the movie has got to the completion stage. It’s going to be in the cinema very soon. And we’ve submitted it for several awards and to the glory of God; ‘Sonto Alapata’, as we titled it, already has three to four nominations in the most anticipated award, Best of Nollywood Awards (BON). It’s a totally different package from ‘Jelili’. It’s a comic-tragedy movie. After that, I did another movie titled “Ila” (Tribal Mark) which I tagged as one of the biggest projects I’ve ever done. We just finished shooting it.
While shooting ‘Jelili’, did you envisage the huge success it recorded?
To be honest, I never envisaged it was going to be a huge success as this but I knew it was going to be a success because I know people would actually be seeing me playing a different role which was going to shock them.
As a lawyer, at what point did it come into your plan to be an actor?
Well, I’ve wanted to be a lawyer since I was very young, before I got admission into the university. But, like they say, man proposes and God disposes. I did everything to become a lawyer and I became a very good lawyer. I furthered my law study with a Masters degree in Law at University of Ibadan. That’s to tell you that, I really wanted to be a lawyer. I was called to Nigerian Bar in 2003. From 2003 to 2005, I was going to court on a daily basis; representing clients, doing serious litigation. In 2005, I realized that I had more demand from the entertainment industry because of my talent and I know the professional ethic of law says, you cannot do any other profession while practicing as a lawyer. So, I said to myself, let me give more time to acting.
Do you recognize your dad’s influence in your rapid rise to fame in the movie industry?
The fact remains that, you cannot rule out my dad’s contributions to my success. You cannot rule out the fact that, as Femi Adebayo, being an Oga Bello’s son has helped me a great deal. The very first major role I played that brought me to the limelight was Tade Ogidan’s movie titled “Owo Blow” that was released in 1995. I went for the auditioning and I won the role and Tade Ogidan never knew I was Oga Bello’s son. That was the first opportunity I had playing a lead character without Oga Bello’s influence.
Virtually everyone in the family of Adebayo has one or two things to do with movie. Is it by error?
You won’t be wrong if you say so. We are more than six. I’m an actor, a writer and a producer. My brother, Tope Adebayo, is a director and is a producer as well. Sodiq Adebayo is a production manager and a producer. Daddy is a producer and actor. Rilwan Adebayo is an editor and our mummy is a marketer.
In your own view now, what does it take to be successful in the industry?
First and foremost, it takes hard work, tolerance and prayer and mutual respect.
It seems you enjoy being a Yoruba actor than featuring in English movie?
Well, the only reason I don’t really appreciate doing English movie is that, one will automatically become artificial because English is a foreign language. Despite the fact that, I’m well educated, I love our culture so much and that’s why I appreciate doing Yoruba movies. That doesn’t mean I’ve not acted in English movies in the past; I was in ‘Ladies Men’, I’ve done ‘Ladies Gang’ alongside Mercy Johnson and it wasn’t bad.
What are some of the challenges you face as a celebrity?
The major challenge is losing your privacy; no thanks to the press. I have always criticized journalists for writing controversial stories, mostly not balanced. One other challenge someone like me is facing is being harassed by female fans. But I have my way of managing it.
Funke Akindele got married recently and you were not there, some people say you are still fighting over the news that broke?
I was not there because I was out of the country. And then obviously on that very day, I spoke with Funke and I spoke with some of her friends. I congratulated her. At least that will put a stop to the rumour that Femi Adebayo is Funke Akindele’s husband or lover. In fact, her marriage is a big blessing to me.
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