Nollywood veteran Jibola Dabo says he is tired of always playing the role of a wicked father or stepfather in movies.
The actor said in an interview with The Nation that he felt typecasted and had rejected many roles because the stories were not good enough for him. Dabo said, “If the story does not make sense, I’ll reject such with due respect. I have seen a script that I wonder what the scriptwriter is trying to say. And then why?”
Dabo said in the interview that he wanted more challenging roles to sharpen his craft. In his words, “Well, I’m tired of playing the role of a wicked father or stepfather in the movies. I think I’ve done so much of that, so, I want roles that would challenge me.”
Last year, fellow veteran Kanayo O Kanayo had to go on record and state that he was not an occultist; as he had been typecast so much that people conflated the characters with his real-life identity. Many other actors have complained about the typecasting in Nollywood, including newcomer Swanky JKA.
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Dabo then expressed gratitude for the longevity he has enjoyed in the Nigerian film industry. He said, “The fact that I’m still here and still relevant. I give thanks to God because there are so many of us that started and are not dead but people don’t know where they are today. They just faded and went off the radar. So, I am grateful for still being relevant. I feel fulfilled because I have seen younger ones who are ‘celebrities.’”
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The 78-year-old actor added, “Like I said earlier, I was there when we had to buy food on credit and now we can afford to feed on our proceeds from this job and also put children through university. So, I’m fulfilled.”
And speaking on the possibility of retirement, Jibola Dabo, who has been gracing the screen for over 30 years, said, “There is no retirement in the industry. As long as I can still have my voice and still move around with my legs and eyes, why would I retire now?”
“Anyways, what I plan to do is to slow down a little bit because the body cannot jump around like I used to do in the 80s or 90s. Back then, I used to work on three film sets together, trekking kilometres to be on different sets. But I don’t do that anymore. Once age sets in, you just have to slow down a little bit. But as for retirement, no, I am not retiring.”
Read the full interview here.
