Baaj Adebule is currently one of the most sought-after in Nigeria’s movie-making industry. In this interview with Damilare Famuyiwa, he speaks about how he started acting, how he handles advances from his female fans and his major challenge in acting.
How best can you describe what your brand represents?
I will say my brand and myself are not far apart. My brand stands for excellence, love and I always try to ensure that the footsteps I’m leaving are good; I’m striving hard to leave a good legacy. Every time I think of this, it informs my excellence, happiness and great work.
How did the journey started for you, and when?
The journey started unofficially in 2011, and I was just trying out other things to see what I wanted from life. I heard about an audition, I went for it and I got a role. So, that was kind of like the unofficial beginning but my career didn’t start properly until 2012/ 2013. That was when I quit my job and devoted all my time to acting. But before then, I was stuck with my nine to five job because it’s not an easy decision to just quit your job and go into entertainment, it is a big decision, so it took me a while to get to a point where I made that decision.
So, officially I’ll say 2012/2013. Around that time I got a role and I got to work on some small TV series like the show on AIT like –Two Sides of a Coin. It started small, but it was good work because I got to learn a lot. I got to meet other actors that I’m still friends with till today. And shout-out to Tope Tedela, a couple of them… I met them really early and we are still friends till today.
At what point did you realise that acting was the way to go?
I got this small role on Tinsel, where I think I just had a scene or so. I did it and it was like even though I don’t believe in love at first site, that is how it felt, it felt like you are right where you were supposed to be. I think it is something that you have to experience to really know what it means. I just felt like this is where I am supposed to be; that was that feeling, that was what made me feel like acting.
How did people around you perceive your decision to venture into acting fully?
I was working as a customer service and operation personnel at DSTV Mobile. It was a cool job. My mum was really scared, she was really afraid because she knows how difficult it is to get a job, how difficult it is to be a young man in Nigeria. She was scared for me, but also supportive. She always has that super positive mind set, like no matter how bad your day was, everything is going to be fine. Sometimes, I would go for auditions, you are talking like a dozen or so in a month and at the time, I was staying with her, and I will come back from the audition and she would be like how was it and she will say don’t worry, if it is yours, it is yours, God will make it possible, always having positive things to say. It was really nice, always having that backbone. I think everybody was just scared but optimistic.
When you were an upcoming actor, what was the motivation for you?
I think at that time I just wanted to act, man! That was pretty much the head and tail of it. I love doing this so much and I didn’t start off being exceptional at it, or any kind of good like now. [Laughs] I’m not that bad, but then I wasn’t even any kind of decent but I just loved it. I couldn’t stop thinking about it. And when I’m obsessed about something, I dream about it, it was that crazy. I just wanted to act and tell stories, that’s what kept me going.
Then after a while, I got to work with some directors that told me that I do have some talents and I could go far. That of course was another level of motivation.. Shout out to Seyi Babatope,and other directors that I worked with earlier on. They really helped me build my confidence, and the skill I have now.
What will you say are the challenges you have encountered in the course of your career?
The major challenge I’ve had is the right opportunities, because no matter how much work you’re putting in, no matter how talented or not talented you are, no one will know until you have the opportunity to actually do something. So, it’s pretty much getting the right opportunities, but it is really getting better. Now, there are more platforms, more filmmakers, there’s more focus on the entertainment industry in Africa and in Nigeria, and so there are more films and more productions going on. It can never be so much, judging from the amount of talents and population of the country, especially in Lagos, you can never have too much entertainment or more specific acting opportunities. For me, that has been the major challenge, getting the right opportunities. And when I said the right opportunities, I didn’t just mean getting a chance to act, it is getting a chance to act in the kind of film or series that goes far, that also actually tasks you as an actor. You know, all these kind of strong characters you play, that will afford you the opportunity to work with great actors that will help you develop your art. Getting that right gig is not easy….
What can you say is the biggest role you’ve played and why?
A lot of these roles for different reasons. For instance, let’s start with the first show at that time, even though the role itself, which was in part one, had only five scenes. It was the biggest thing I’ve ever done, I lost my mind for it. So, now that I am now doing part two, the character is bigger and more prominent and the role is now bigger, so that will obviously be very important and could be my biggest role.
There is Jason Sonovo, which pretty much made me a household name, you know, and the series was so amazing. I got to work with so many great people, and it was directed by three amazing directors. The story and the character really built me up as an actor. So, that would also be a very big role for me. And then, there’s Luis Okafor on The Men’s Club, he is a really great-compelling character to play, so that also plays a very big role. There are other roles from smaller movies that are not as popular, but because of the amount of work I have to put in to pull them off, to me, they come up as the biggest roles…So many roles that will come up as the biggest role, it depends on the perspective of biggest role, what you feel it means in context. Some actors don’t like certain roles and they won’t play it for anything.
Do you also fall in that category?
No, I don’t, the only roles that I find myself not liking are those I feel that I have played before too many times and I don’t really see what I can do with anyone. When you pick up a script and you just feel that you are reading someone you have played before, and you feel that the director casted you because he has seen you in some films, and he just rushed you to bring that exact thing to this film and do the exact same thing, it is very frustrating and irritating for me. So, those kinds of roles can get me upset if I end up taking them. Sometimes ,I just don’t take them at all. Aside from those ones, there are no roles I have gotten the pleasure of having and I am like, Nah, I can’t play them, for whatever reason. Those roles that people will consider to be beneath them are the kinds of role I would give an arm and leg to play, those roles are so amazing because it is like unattractive territory, it is so endearing, you get to lose yourself and do things that you would never get the chance to do in your life, it is kind of like having some explicit freedom to explore. I always find them intriguing and attractive, you just don’t get to do them too often.
Who are those that inspire you in the Nollywood industry?
I think there is a great deal of people because there are so many people doing this stuff, and I have known them for a while. Being able to witness their journey is very inspiring, it is a long list of people, Tope Tedola, Gabriel Afolayan, Kiki Omeili.. So, many people inspire me, how much work they put in their path. And even directors too, so a lot of established directors and young ones still inspire me, like I am actually a fan. The list keeps growing because new people keep doing great stuff and it is so nice to see them, and the more great stuff that keeps getting done, the greater the industry becomes…
Always show up man! It is that simple, it is easy to say but sometimes you will just start giving up, it gets tiring. You have been shooting, it is late, you are tired, you just want to do a quick follow up so you can get to sleep…always show up. If you have a reading or an audition that you don’t feel like going for again, go for it. If you are tired and you just want to do this last scene and get out, so you don’t put your mind there. No, show up, always come 100 percent, it is important because we have very little control over the world or over our lives as human beings. The only control we have is over what we are doing, that is all. You can never really tell when there will be someone around witnessing what you are doing, and because that person witnesses that extraordinary thing you just did, you get another opportunity or explode in form.
How do you handle advances from your female admiral?
There is not much to handle to be honest, because handle means that you are currently driving it, and you have it in your hand. Since I never hold it in my hand, instead I let it just flow around, it is so nice, I don’t think there is anyone who wouldn’t like to feel loved, it is always nice when you get messages telling you how good of an actor they think you are, and the good of a person they think you are, and how much they enjoy your films, these things are all nice. For me, they are just things that you should enjoy and definitely don’t let it get to your head and definitely don’t exploit it because no matter how you look at it, this is still very real-life emotions from real life people. You have to take that emotion into consideration; you can’t play with it, you can’t exploit it. You just have to be polite about it, you never try to grab it, so you don’t have anything to handle, just let it flow, it is a good thing, a good feeling.