Exclusive: Top Nollywood actor turns musician, guess who inspired him?
Popular Nigerian-born UK based actor, Wale Ojo came into the industry few years back with Kunle Afolayan’s movie Phone Swap. The Nollywood actor was well known for his program on NTA Ibadan and Mnet’s TV series, The Adebanjos. Wale, who just featured in Kunle Afolayan’s new movie THE CEO in an interview with NAIJ.COM, opened up on his role in the movie, revealed on being a music star among others.
Actor Wale Ojo
How will you describe the experience working on the set of THE CEO with Kunle Afolayan?
It was very good, I always have fun working with Kunle and it was great fun. He is a nice character and there were other fantastic cast to work with as well such as Angelique Kidjo, Peter King, Aurelie Fatym, Nico, Lala, you know we had a great time.
What was your most challenging scene in that movie?
I think there is a scene which I tried to drown one of the actors, so we actually went into the sea. Unfortunately I’m a good swimmer but the other actor wasn’t so I had to pretend to drown the actor and at the same time protect the actor. I find that very challenging.
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As a thespian, what do you makes a good script?
Good stories, you know you have to follow the rules of screen writing, attention, action and I like a lot of action. You just have to connect to your audience by knowing your audience.
Having to work with other international actors, what was the experience like?
It was great, it was always good working with actors from different part of the world but I don’t enjoy it because everybody has a different quality. The French actors had a different quality, Peter King from Kenya had a different quality and Nico Panagio from South Africa had a different quality. It is always interesting but challenging as well, so it is good.
Nollywood actor
What will you say makes a good actor?
I think to be a great actor, you have to be a great listener and you really have to be sensitive to what is around you to what people are saying. Listening, I think is one of the best qualities an actor can have. Acting is reacting, so you have to be able to really tune in to what somebody is saying to you and react accordingly.
When do we get to see Wale Ojo produce his own movie?
I have a movie that I’m working on now, it is called Kalakuta Express, it is a homage to Fela Anikulapo Kuti and I will commence back to front promotion for it on Thursday, May 26 and I am doing an afro beat live concert where I’ll be revealing to my fans that I am also a musician. I’m playing with a 10 piece afro band at the hard rock café.
So is this movie the most challenging, ‘THE CEO’ for you?
No, I have done much challenging movies but it was challenging.
What were the little challenges?
I mean to be honest with you, I liked the script on set and I accepted the challenges that were there and I won’t say that there were like huge challenges as such but they were just hard work. You have to be on the character all the time so it was intense, it wasn’t comedy, it wasn’t very easy, it was intense. It started comically but it gets more and more intense, more and more tragedy happening.
Most time you infuse a bit comedy in most movies, are they usually part of the script or it’s a deliberate input?
No, I think I always infuse comedy but if you watch the movie Phone swap, I did not act like a funny guy but a serious guy from the beginning to the end. It was only at the end he turned down being funny a bit but this guy acts joking around and I like that because in real life funny person, so I try and infuse that.
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Wale Ojo
What prompted the title of your new project ‘Kalakuta Express’?
What prompted it is my love for Fela’s music, my love for afro beat.
What is your take on the supposed disparity between the old and new Nollywood?
How can you say there was disparity because there wouldn’t be any cinema unless Nollywood started? Nollywood started their work in the 1990s and they didn’t have any support from government and they only had one video camera and they said ok yes, and I think that was low but they were able to make an industry that makes about three hundred million dollars ($300,000,000) a year, so you know that is not easy. For example, I have a movement that is called ‘New Nigeria Cinema’ and I said to everybody; New Nigeria Cinema is not competing against Nigeria but it is a child of Nollywood. It is Nollywood that is giving birth to ‘New Nigerian Cinema’ and we would take it further like we are doing with THE CEO, 35,000 fit up to the sky and beyond.
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