Talented Nollywood actor, Omotola Odunsi, popularly known as Omotola the Actor, is from Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State, born and raised in Ijebu-Ode, where she attended her primary and secondary school. She later went to Our Lady Of Apostles Secondary School, before graduating in Microbiology from Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU). In this interview with Quadri Akanbi, Omotola reveals the reasons why she is in support of DNA tests in marriages.
How will you describe your acting style?
I will describe my acting style like…whenever I am given a script. In the character I am to portray, all I do is digest it because acting is make-believe. After reading my script, I will visualise it and digest it. While digesting it, I will then put myself in that character, to make it real. That is my style of acting.
You are famous in the Nollywood industry. How did you find your way into the acting world? And when did you start acting as a career?
I started acting back then when I was in university. I started with Lateef Adedimeji; we both went for a stage presentation. Along the line, I stopped for a while. I came back in 2018 under the leadership of Odunlade Adekola, who is my boss. That is how I found my way into the industry.
How do you describe your most challenging role to date?
I have actually done some challenging roles, but to me, they are not challenging enough. I really need more challenging roles, as in, I want the industry to give me more challenging roles; roles that they know that I haven’t played before because I love being challenged. Yes, I do, and I love working on improving myself because that is what I do daily. I work on myself and my skills to become the better version of myself.
You are a graduate of Microbiology, how were you able to convince your parents about your acting career?
It wasn’t difficult for me to tell my parents about my choice of career because my parents had the knowledge before now. When I was in secondary school, I belonged to a drama group, so when I got to the university, they saw my passion in me. So, now I am an actor… When I told them I wanted to pursue my acting career, they supported me. Before I joined acting fully, I was working in the banking sector. As a banker, I was a credit officer. I had to tell them that I have to resign from my banking job, because then it was affecting me. I couldn’t go for locations and all that, and it was cool by them. They supported me, and ever since, they have been having their support.
Since you’ve been in the industry, how many movies have you produced or acted in so far?
Actually, since I have been in the movie industry, I have not produced any movies, but I have been featured in more than 60 films.
Of the lot, which is your favourite movie, and why?
I will say all the movies that I featured in are my favourites. Of course, some people will say these are bad movies, while some say they are good movies. But to me, in some bad movies, you will still learn one or two things, because there is no way someone will produce a movie and the total rating of the movie will be zero. So, to me, all the movies that I have featured in are all good movies. This is because whenever I have been called to a movie on set, the first thing to do is to go through the script. So, from me, reading the script, I will know if the movie set is worth doing for me or not. I said earlier that no matter how bad a movie is, you will still learn some lessons from it. So, before I go for any job, I go through the script first, because when you get to certain levels in the industry, there are some scripts you won’t want to accept. There are some roles you won’t want to play because accepting them might underrate you, it might even bring you down. So, I consider all this before accepting roles.
How do you feel when you make your fans engrossed in the lives of your characters?
Yeah, I feel good when my fans love my character in any movie, because I always want them to know that I’m up to the task. So, whenever I act my character out in any movie and they love and appreciate it, it’s always a thing of joy for me. It makes me feel blessed and more motivated.
As an actor, which actor and actress do you admire most, and why?
As an actor, the actor I admire the most is my boss, Odunlade Adekola. I said that anytime, any day, I admire him so much because he’s so smart and intelligent. He is full of knowledge and worthy of being emulated. So, I admire him a lot. He is my role model, and I will keep saying that over and over again; he is my role model, and I admire him a lot.
What do you like doing in your free time?
What I do mostly with my free time is to go online to study more about my job, because I am the kind of actor that does really want to know more and so more, because now that I don’t have the ability to go and study more abroad concerning my career, so I do go on google and youtube to learn more.
What is your reaction to the people who mimic you?
Lol! It’s a thing of joy to me when I see people mimicking me, my job, or any character that I play in a movie. It’s a thing of joy, lol! I am always happy, I will be like wow! So people are really watching and observing my work? It’s a thing of joy for me really.
What does the word ‘hunger’ mean to you?
Hunger means when I need to learn more. And I need to know more. I am that kind of person; always hungry to learn more, and to know more. I’m always hungry to add more value and innovation to myself. So, that’s the meaning of hunger to me. To me, it is not when you are hungry and you need to eat. No, that’s not it for me. To me, it is when I desperately am, and willing to add more to myself; to acquire more knowledge. That’s what the word ‘hunger’ means to me.
Do you have any upcoming projects?
Presently, I do not have any personal upcoming projects, but I have a lot of featured jobs that I have to do, and to the glory of God, I am trusting God for funds to embark on my own project. And I am using the opportunity to say that I need an executive producer, willing to sponsor or to support my career. I will be grateful if I get one.
What is your most embarrassing day as an actor?
My most embarrassing day? hmmm, okay. Presently as I am now, I don’t have a car. There was a time I was called to a movie location in Lagos, so I had to leave from Abeokuta to Lagos at that time. And I had to go with my luggage, which was heavy; my costume and other necessary things. So, when I got to the movie location, and we had to move from that particular venue to another place where the movie would be shot, but I didn’t have a car, the producer went to talk to a lady on my behalf, because she had a car. The producer told her to assist me with her car, and I was there with them. But the lady said that she couldn’t carry me. She said it boldly; “I’m sorry I can’t carry her. Why would I carry her? Is she the one who bought the car for me or something?” You know, I was so embarrassed, but I did not utter a word. Since then, I have been trying to God to provide a car for me, and I am still trusting God for it.
Are you in support of DNA tests in the family?
Well, fine. You know in a family there should be an altar of trust because of the coming together of two different people, there should be a force binding them, and the force is what I call trust and understanding. You should be able to vouch for and trust your partner. If you had a past adventure in the past, maybe your partner had done something wrong that you must have to forgive her, or maybe you caught her cheating or something, to just make peace rein in the family, you can do DNA. But before you go for a DNA test, try and sit your partner down and let her know the steps you want to take, because, sometimes, if you do a DNA test without you informing your wife and the results come out and you find out that the baby is actually yours, believe me sincerely, it will pain your partner. With that, your partner might not even trust you again with her life, because she will be sad and feel, Oh, does that mean this man doesn’t trust me or something? So, before you take a step of doing a DNA test, call your wife, sit her down, and tell her that, see, honey, it is not that I don’t trust you, but I just feel like doing this, are you in support of it? You know when you talk about it with your partner, her response will bring light to the situation, but if she is against it, trust me, there might be something fishy. So, it depends on how you present it to your wife.(Thisnigeria)
