How I Stepped Up My Game In The Last 3 Years

• Star Actor, OLUMIDE OWORU

There is possibly no way you would watch about four or five block buster Nigerian movies these days and star actor, Olumide Oworu will not feature in a couple of them. That is how much in demand this talented young man has become. Those who have followed his career closely know how much he has put into the industry, having joined Nollywood almost three decades ago when he was a toddler. And he has remained in Nollywood ever since. Presently, Olumide is clearly one of the most sought after actors in the land. He is one of Nollywoods brightest exports. This incredible thespian, in the last couple of years, has been making waves unprecedented in his career. Consistently, he now features in block buster movies back to back, and he is also creating lots of sensation outside of the movie industry in the political space. He ventured into politics early this year and contested to represent Surulere constituency 1 for a seat at the Lagos State House of Assembly under the platform of the Labour Party. He has a massive followership of young people online who are rooting for him to step out again come 2027 and take another shot at politics.

No doubt about it, Olumide, in the last couple of years or thereabout, has massively 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 Olumide Oworu, you get nothing short of top –of-the-shelf performance. Which is why 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 major 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, Ijakumo, produced by Toyin Abraham. His performance in the very successful Netflix series, Far Away From Home also earned him lots of positive reviews. In this exclusive interview with City People’s Senior Editor, WALE LAWAL (08037209290), Olumide takes us through his journey in Nollywood and how he has been able to transit from the kid actor role he played as Tari in The Johnsons and the more matured and diverse role roles he now plays in different movies. Enjoy excerpts from the interview.

There is no doubt that your profile has risen incredibly in the last couple of years, how do you feel about the tremendous progress you have made so far in your acting career?

It’s been very interesting. I’ve been doing this for a while. It’s just so interesting to unlock a new level. One of the things that’s important to have is for one not to feel stagnant. It’s very important to be able to look and see how much growth and progress one has made, it’s very satisfying, very exciting, very rewarding because I have put in a lot. So, it feels good that all the sacrifices now is starting to make sense. So, I’m very happy about that.

A lot of people have been surprised seeing you play totally different and more exciting roles than what they saw you play on the set of The Johnson’s for so many years. So, take us through that transition, how challenging or seamless has it been for you?

Well, it’s something I’ve been very excited about because The Johnsons has been running for 12 years and it’s a daily show. So, it’s very easy for people to get comfortable seeing you as a particular character that they’ve grown to love. And for some people, the lines between fictional characters and real life are very blurry. For instance, a lot of people think The Johnsons is a real family show. They think I’m Tari Johnson and I’m going through exactly what Tari Johnson is going through. And for somebody who started up very early in Nollywood, it’s also very important for me to always seek growth. That’s one of the biggest things for me, not being in a box because I really identify as a creative, not just as an actor alone. I have many talents and I plan to explore as many of them as much as I can. I believe life is really all about trying things, taking risks and just really enjoying the process for your self.

So, it was really important for me to really start to play a different type of character, get roles that are a bit more matured than what people have been seeing me play and it’s great to see that I’ve been able to start that process in all the roles have been getting in the last couple of years and people are starting to realise that I’m actually a lot older than they think (laughs). Basically, I just try to have as much fun as I can, if not, it would just be stressful and it would feel like I have no life of my own. So, far so good, it’s been great playing characters that are a bit closer to where I am at in real life because, as you get older, your mentality to a lot of things start to change, so certain characters I feel a bit out of touch with because I personally, I’m going through different things, so it’s now difficult to align what I’m probably experiencing right now to characters that are way younger. This means there will be a bit of disconnect and if you can’t connect with your character, your performance is not going to be believable. So, thankfully, I’ve been able to start that process and it’s going very well.

I must commend you for your brilliant performance in Far Away From Home. Everyone loves how you nailed that role and made it look so believable. But the one that blew my mind was your role in Ijakumo, for many reasons. That movie had you play a role people haven’t seen you play before anywhere else, how challenging was the role particularly for you?

Of course, it was intense. For one, a lot my scenes were shot in Abeokuta. It was, to begin with, interesting that we were shooting outside Lagos, experiencing things, you’re on top of Olumo Rock, the sun is out and shining, it’s so hot I can literally feel myself getting darker and at the same time, my character is the younger version of the character that Kunle Remi played. So, we also had to be able to align performance so that it would look like a believable character trajecting from young to old. So, I had to try to imbibe some of his mannerisms so that they blend with each other. And of course, it involved a lot of Yoruba lines, which was the first time I’d ever done Yoruba on that scale beyond one or two lines and that was very interesting. Thankfully, I got a lot of help on that and it was so amazing, you know, the cast, crew, production, everybody was just very helpful and they tried to make me very comfortable dealing with that. And I genuinely had fun. For me, I think the whole thing with my career, I always try as much as possible to enjoy what I do. So, yes, I’m on set, but I’m actually playing and having fun.

But normally, when you’re not on set, do you usually speak Yoruba for, say about five straight minutes?

Well, because a lot of my work is English, of course and I basically film every other day so I spend more time playing characters that speak English. Ijakumo was the first movie I had to say quite a lot of lines so I had to really connect with that. And it helped that we were shooting some of my scenes outside of Lagos, the scenery, the wardrobe all helped to get into that. It was a very fun experience for me.

For someone like you who started out in the industry when you were pretty young, I’m curious to know, who were your major influences?i

When I was a kid, I would say the first one will definitely have to be Will Smith. I loved his shows, I thought they were brilliant. And as I grew older I started to appreciate Jim Iyke, RMD, Ounlade, Dimeji Lateef, Ramsey Nouah, Pete Edochie, you know, just started to see how much work they put in and the longevity that they’ve had as well. , so that’s definitely something I took note of and said, okay, so it’s possible to be at for 30, 40 years plus, you just have to keep your head down and do the business. And I try to apply that to my own career as well by keeping my head down and do what I need to do and take each day as it comes and try not to put any pressure on myself.

Who are some of the established names you’re hoping to work with soon, those names whose delivery of their craft excite you?

There’s a movie that will be out soon, RMD played my dad in that movie and in that movie, in the first few scenes with him, I was over acting (laughs). I was like this is RMD, I have to impress and the director called me aside and was like, oh boy, relax, take it easy. And when I’d calmed down, it was then I was able to get the job done. But you to have understand this was somebody I have been watching since when I was a kid. He was acting for several years, he took a break and then came back like he never left, he’s had such an amazing career and to be in the same space with him and to have him acknowledge my talent meant a lot to me, like I am definitely doing something right here. But I would still love to work with as many people as possible because I still want to learn from everybody. I believe everybody has a unique style and personality that they bring to the table so, for me, its down to the quality of work now. And we’re putting out arguably the best quality that we’ve ever put out as an industry right now. For instance, the quality of the stories we tell have gone up, there are more diverse characters now. There was a time I literally the only person in my age bracket that was on teevee, I couldn’t see any other person in that age bracket on the level that I was at the time, even on teevee in general. Nobody on teevee, nobody in films, so there was barely anything for young actors. But now you have movies where young actors are many in the project. Now, we have movies where young actors are put on the posters, selling the project. So, that, to me, is just amazing to witness and I’m genuinely excited to see what the future has for us in Nollywood and for me as well.

So, share with us how you have been coping with your very hectic schedules because I personally know that you have been extremely busy in the last couple of years now, moving from one location to another to meet up with the demands for your services. How have you coped so far, especially with the attendant pressure that it brings?

Well, first is that I try to rest as much as I can because acting can be mentally and emotionally tasking so I try to rest as much as I can. I also understand that work load is going to get heavier and heavier the bigger you get in the industry, but that goes without saying I’ve also learnt how to balance things because I’ve always learnt how to balance filming with something. Growing up, it was filming and going to school and trying to have a normal childhood, trying to balance primary, secondary, university and back and forth like that, so my schedule has always been kind of tight. So, in terms of having these long hours of shooting, that’s not new to me, I’ve been dealing with that since I was a kid. Its just that now, it has be a bit more intentional like me taking time out for myself. There are times I genuinely feel burnt out because I’ve been shooting back to back, so I just take a break to give myself time to refuel before getting back on location. But again, I love it, it’s an indicator that we’re doing something right and I’m just so very thankful that I’m still in conversations still, after all this time, its not something that I take for granted at all. And again, like I have said, the best thing is for me to enjoy what I’m doing because nobody knows how long you’re going to have this opportunity for. There’s no template, there’s no rule book that says, okay, you’re gonna be here for 10 years, or 15 years or less, so I try to enjoy for as long as I have it. If we’re here long term, that’s amazing, if not, it’s been amazing run as well and I’m content whichever way this goes.

How have you been able to go on this far without any scandal or controversies? And despite your rise in fame, you have kept your head low and remained grounded? What part of your childhood prepared you for this?

I will definitely credit that to my parents. There was a lot of premium placed on just being a good person and treating people well regardless of whatever status they belong, It’s a thing of everybody deserves to be loved, every person deserves respect and everybody deserves to be treated well. And it wasn’t just my parents telling me these things, I mean, as a kid, you learn from just observing things going on around you than the things that they actually tell you. I have just been blessed with parents that are just good people. I come from a good family background, let me put it that way, and I have a great extended family as well. That just shaped the way I saw myself and the way I saw the world and it all helped in keeping my head low. My mum definitely keeps me grounded for sure. There were a lot of things that she put in place to make sure I didn’t get carried away, there were a lot of things I couldn’t do until a certain age, regardless of how well my work was going or how popular I was getting, it was not flying in the house. So, really, I didn’t just know any other way to be other than the way I am right now. So, it’s not like I am training myself to be the way I am, this is how I’ve been since I was a kid and it’s how I was raised.