Ace actor, Funsho Adeolu, talks about his formative years as an actor and the drivers behind the revolution in the Nigerian movie industry in this interview with Naomi Chima.
you he once said you never studied theater arts at school, how did you get into acting?
I am regularly involved in entertainment and play instruments in church. I knew it was in me to be in the entertainment world, dancing and all. So, one day, we created something in FESTAC, having fun looking for a way to make money. We chose a book ‘King Emena’ that was used in schools and for exams and decided to perform it in FESTAC schools. But we needed a professional to train us, so we invited Antar Laniyan, and when he came, someone said Funsho, join us and that’s it. And while he was doing that, he (Laniyan) said I would go places and that is what I am doing till today.
You said that someone realized your potential, and you took it from there. What were your formative years like?
It was very sweet because when I started I didn’t think about money. I was enjoying myself and hoped that one day I would be somewhere else. But when I saw that he was giving me money, I enjoyed it more. So I didn’t see that it was difficult, because it was a passion for me, because it was born. During my year of service, we had theater artistes in all but I was in charge and I was also retained in Oyo State to take classes as a professional. So it’s a passion for me, it’s my life.
What was your ambition before Anta Laniyan discovered acting skills?
I was then one of those who represented my school in literature and debate. One day someone said, “You know how to talk a lot so you can be a lawyer,” and so I’ve been doing it all my life. So when I got to secondary school, I was still thinking about law but when I met Antar (Laniyan) I was in A level and I said well this acting could be a way for me too. So when I started, it was like a hobby, I still wanted to do law, I did Jamba four times until I decided to study guidance and counseling, which was not my line. So, for a long time, God was telling me “that’s not your line”.
Do you need special training to be an actor?
You have to be trained somehow, even if you don’t study theater arts in school, you have to go through someone who is a professional and can give you acting advice. What I went through was an informal training session; the only thing I didn’t do was study theater history, but everything about acting in general was part of what I experienced with Laniyan. He was my mentor and role model for a long time and he made me see that this was my line and so I stuck to it.
Acting gets you to play different roles, how do you fit into the characters?
Playing characters and roles is teaching the basics of acting and that’s why I said it’s important to have informal or formal training for someone trained in theater. It is very important. So when you do that you would know how to play roles.
What would you say was the most significant factor that revolutionized the process of making movies for the Nigerian audience?
Well, Netflix, African Magic, Show Max and all these things made a lot of magic. So when people come to us, it’s like a challenge for all of us when they say that’s the standard we have to meet. African Magic, Rock TV, Netflix and others have standards for supported movies. So, since we already know that if we don’t work to that standard, our films won’t get into their platforms, then we started doing a better job of getting there. Also, what made it all up was that people started learning how to direct movies, how to do sound and everything outside of Nigeria. The improvement came with the revolution of people who entered into doing business.
