Nigerian actress, Sola Kosoko, who is the daughter of veteran actor Jide Kosoko has opened up on how her father influenced her acting career.
In an interview with Punch, the actress disclosed how she got into the movie industry and the role her father played.
“He influenced me in so many ways. Firstly, I want to believe that it is because he is an actor that I am also in the industry as well. Whenever people ask me that if I was not an actor, what would I have been doing, I always tell them that I would probably have been a lawyer or broadcaster because that is what I intended to study in the university,” she said.
“But, somehow, I had even started acting before I gained admission into the university. So, it was already a career for me before I even went to the higher institution. Thus, going to the university was just a formality and for the sake of getting a certificate. I eventually did not study Law or Mass Communication, but Sociology.
“I said my father influenced me in so many ways because since I was a child, I had always seen my dad acting everywhere. We usually went with him to the National Theatre (Iganmu, Lagos) and from there, I fell in love with how the profession was practised. Also, there was a time my dad wrote a script and said I would be starring in the production but I refused because I was waiting for admission into school.
“I thought it would take my time and if I was not careful, I might not be interested in education any longer. But my father insisted and said I would play the role alongside my education. He insisted that it would not affect my education in any way. So, after finishing the production, I featured in about three others before I got into the university. At that time, acting was already part of me. When I graduated from the university, I had started making money from acting. Today, I thank God for taking me this far,” she added.
Sola Kosoko started acting as a child in 1987 in the movie Omo Orukan.
Her first major film was Ola Abata in 1999 followed by Oko Irese and Omo Olorire which brought her into the limelight. She gained prominence in the movie industry with the movie Larooda Ojo.
She has acted in over 50 movies including Láròodá Ojò, Oko Irese, Eje Adegbenro 2, Eje Adegbenro, Onitemi, Omo Bishop, Ina Fitila, Wura Ati Fadaka, Alamu Seniyan and Omo Olorire.
She produced her first movie Ese Ni in 2005 and her second movie, The Voice in 2019 which features her father and sister, Bidemi.