• How My Role In IYABO OJO’s Movie Boosted My Career
Star actor, Alaba Ultimate needs little introduction. He is a rave of the moment. His stellar performance in Iyabo Ojo’s new cinema movie, Labake Olododo has left millions wondering where on earth they got him from. His delivery, charisma, the weird make-up e.t.c added to his aura. He acted Adigun in the movie, who happens to be the second in command to the Warrior Lady, Labake Olododo. His performance in ANIKULAPO was also top notch.
Alaba Onaolapo is his real name but many people know and call him Alaba Ultimate. He’s a musician and actor.
Who is Alaba Ultimate? How did he start acting? How was he cast for the role of Adigun in Labake Olododo. Many of these questions he answered in a phone conversation with City People Head of TV, SUNDAY ADIGUN. Enjoy the conversation.
Alaba Ultimate is popular, everybody knows Alaba ultimate, but your role as Adigun in Labake Olododo has actually boosted that name the more, what do you have to say to that?
I will say thank you Jesus, thank God, and thanks to someone like Iyabo Ojo for believing in my craft, and trusting me with that kind of character. Adigun played a major character in Labake Olododo, as you know, so trusting me with that kind of a role was big, for me, for my growth and my craft, so thank you God, thanks to the whole Labake Olododo team for trusting me.
If I could remember vividly, you also acted in Anikulapo , how challenging was it for you to play your role in Anikulapo and Labake Olododo?
Being an actor, I’ve been doing this for a while now, so any role, if it’s not the lover boy kind of role, it’s going to be challenging, especially when it comes to the traditional part of it. So me playing Adigun was quite challenging, because I had to speak like Adigun, act like Adigun, behave like Adigun, once in a while. Before even getting to that set of Labake Olododo, the director told me exactly what she want, so I had to take my time to embody the character, so it took a long time to become ADIGUN in Labake olododo. In Anikulapo, I played kuranga’s friend and the people from Ede, riding horses was a little challenging but not as challenging as playing someone like Adigun because it’s a major role in Labake Olododo.
There was a clip I saw where they were trying to fix your contact lens?
Going through all that process was a whole lot for me, wearing a contact lens was my first time ever, nothing has entered my eyes before so it was quite challenging, my eyes started closing by itself. It looked like somebody was trying to poke me in the eye and stuffs like that, it was quite challenging but thank God I went through that process. 3 days into the job,my eyes got used to it, but the very first day they tried to fix the lens,the whole village came through,the whole entire town of Oyo had to come,everybody came just to fix the lens and thanks to Hakeem effects and his crew for being professional and also Glitterstouch and her team, I give everybody their credits, it takes the whole village to raise a child in Yoruba language, so thanks to Hakeem Effects for the transformation and everything. Even when I was on Anikulapo set, the way he made the mark on my face looked so real,so that’s where the industry is going right now, I give some accolades to Hakeem Effects and his team.
Let’s talk about you, who is Alaba Ultimate?
Thank you sir, my name is ALABA ONAOLAPO. My stage name is Alaba Ultimate, I’m a married man, I have a wife with 3 grown boys, I shuffle between Nigeria and US. I’m a musician, I do live band, I’ve done live shows all over. I’m an actor, I was born and brought up in Ibadan and my mum is from Ilesha. I’m from a religious background, my father is a Muslim, he has a mosque and my mum is a Christian, she also built a church, I’m the last child of 8, I moved to Lagos and finished my education in Lagos, I started working in Nigeria before I relocated to the US.
Why music? Why acting?
I started singing right from church (my mum’s church) then also does stage play acting right from the church as well, that’s where the talent came from. I enjoyed doing it even though I got a degree in Computer Science,I still feel like this is what I enjoy doing.Whenever you to go to work and enjoy doing what you do, it doesn’t feel like work, then you’re doing something right with your career,so whenever I’m not singing, I’m definitely on set. It feels like this is what I want to do and getting paid for doing what you love doing the most, I just have a passion for singing and acting.
So at what stage did acting come in sir?
I have been acting right from the beginning of my life, from church, but going to rehearsal was in 1993/1994 with one of my oga called Oguntade, in Ojodu Berger, that’s where everything started for me. For me I enjoy doing this thing and it also gives me money to put food on the table for my family.
I noticed Alaba Ultimate doesn’t just appear in anyhow movies, how do some of this filmmaker contact you?
There’s nothing called anyhow movies, everybody has a background, you start from somewhere, I’ve also appeared in YouTube movies, I have done so many movies that I look back on right now, and say I did that, but it’s a gradual process, you have to create that niche that works for you, so when it’s time to go to the next level, you will find out yourself. You don’t just get there by mistake, you know I also didn’t fall from the sky and just landed on Anikulapo or landed on Jagunjagun 2, you know these big jobs? You have to go through some process, so I went through that process. I’ve done Africa Magic movies and YouTube movies, so it’s just grace, but you still need to go through the process.
There’s no doubt you delivered your role 100% in Labake olododo, how were you contacted? Was it through an audition of something? How were you contacted for the role?
So, I think two years ago, the Queen mother, Iyabo Ojo and I have been friends, we talk a lot. We talk about everything, and one time she told me over the phone that she has couple of stories and I was like okay, when I get to Nigeria we will talk about it. So I went to her office and she told me two stories that day but Labake Olododo was the second story so I told her to do the second story. So after that day I think we waited another year, before she even said okay, I have a director we are going to use, and then the day she told me I was going to play Adigun, we were in a meeting, a conference meeting with the director and everybody. She said Alaba Ultimate is going to play the role of Adigun, I never knew I was going to play that character. I knew about the character, I knew how crazy and tough the character is, but Iyabo Ojo said this is the character I want Ultimate in, and thank God she trusted me with that character and I was able to kill the role. I was very excited when she told me about the role I was playing.
Are we expecting any production from you too?
Yes, we just filmed Anikulapo season 2, it should be coming out this year. We just filmed Jagunjagun 2, should be coming out this year too. I have “Covenant”, with one of the biggest producers of Nollywood, Vincent Okonkwo, will be coming out pretty soon. I have one we just filmed this year, with Jide Kosoko. I also have music stuff, I have my music coming out, “Wamumi Debe”, single, should be coming out in two months, and the full album in four months after that.
