ABAYOMI Alvin is an actor, model, screenwriter and an entrepreneur, who grew up in Akure, Ondo state as a young quiet dude but ended up on the screen as a Nollywood hunk and popular skit character. He had a series of auditions and eventually got his first role in a movie, ‘Collateral War’ in 2014 directed by Iwuanyanwu Chuks and produced by Chioma Okeke. Alvin rose to prominence after featuring in Funke Akindele’s Jenifa’s Diary and Jade Osiberu’s debut as a director and producer, Isoken. In this interview with The NATION’s ADENIYI ADEWOYIN, this graduate of Sociology and Anthropology from Obafemi Awolowo University spoke on his rising profile in Nollywood, as a skitmaker and his relationship with a female colleague that turned sour.
You do more skits lately, what prompted you to switch to skits?
I won’t say I switched, if you check my social media pages as far as 2015/16, you will see contents that I have been creating. I will just say I never really took it seriously then, it was more like fun. Way back, I’ve shot with Broda Shaggi, Officer Woss, Mr Macaroni, I mean the big names in the content creation industry. So, I will just say I took it more seriously these past couple of months or years which now made it look as if I switched from Nollywood to online content creation. I still had three of my movies in cinemas earlier this year and more are coming later this year. I’m still very much in Nollywood. The reason you have been seeing my face online is because I took content creation really seriously just as I take acting seriously. The world is changing and as an entertainer you have to find a way to be relevant.
Do you see yourself dumping professional acting for skit making?
No, it’s always funny when people say professional acting. What do they do in skits? It’s also acting and they get paid too. People invite me to shoot content and they pay me too. But no, I’m not leaving professional acting for online content creation.
Which pays more?
It’s a personal thing. I’ll say content creation pays more and here is my reason. As an actor, you can’t really control how much you make in a month for example. You can say I want to make N20 million but what if the job that would pay you that amount doesn’t come? But as a content creator who is really hard working, you can control how much you make. If your social media pages are monetized, then you know how much is coming in a month. Based on that I will say content creation pays more in Nigeria.
You appear to me as a jovial guy, what’s your life outside acting like?
I’m just actually a very simple guy. I like to take life step by step. If I have 100 problems, I solve them one at a time. I watch a lot of movies and most times, I prefer being indoors and it’s safer, you avoid problems when you are indoors. I won’t say I’m an introvert but indoors is just cool. Outdoor is just wahala especially in Lagos – traffic, billing, a lot of billing. I appreciate my fans but some of them just don’t know how to stop, you must make funds transfer.
How do you keep up with movie sets and other personal things?
Scheduling basically. Most producers give at least two weeks’ notice and some even contact you one or three months ahead. I’ve got plans, I have scheduled and planned my life. If I decide to stay home and make the day be about me and my family, it’s going to stay that way.
Can you fall in love with an actress while on the job?
I did it once and it didn’t end well, so I don’t know if I can do that again. I don’t even know why it didn’t end well. I wish I just left us as friends. Maybe, we would have been the best of friends right now. It’s one of the regrets I have. In fact, we ended up blocking each other.
But you guys still work together on set?
Yes, there was this one time we were on set after breaking up and were meant to kiss. It was so weird. Funny enough, not a lot of people knew because we were still professional, it was just a few people in our inner circle knew that these guys used to be very close but not anymore. The producer and director didn’t know, we kissed and it was so romantic. What I’ve learned it in life is never to say never, there are things I said I wouldn’t do many years back and I find myself doing these things these days.
Celebrities are seen as role models, especially those who tell their grass to grace story
(Cuts in) First off, I tell people not to see me as their role model just pick a few things because nobody is perfect so that you don’t see me on the news one day and be like oh my role model. You may see one of two things to admire like my acting, my style, my dress sense but don’t put me on this pedestal that makes me almost robotic, I am a human being, I’m meant to make mistakes and when I do, I want people to also treat me as a human being because even those seeing me as role model do make mistakes so who am I not to make mistakes.
Tell me about your childhood
Childhood and growing up was quite interesting in Akure, Ondo State. If you had told people then that I was going to grow up to be in people’s faces for entertainment, they would have said it’s a lie because I was a reserved kid. Although, I had always known I had a thing for telling stories because many times when I watch a movie, I’m always the one narrating to my friends and even sometimes when I’m alone in my house, I’m always acting alone.
How did acting start for you?
I started as a model even though I’ve always admired acting from primary/secondary school but I never saw myself as an actor maybe because I grew up in Akure (laughs). I came to Lagos to spend some holidays with my extended family and that was when my physique started coming out as an adolescent and I started getting advice to be a model. I went to a couple of modelling competitions which I won like Mr Ideal Osun State and Mr Ideal Nigeria. From there, I started seeing that they don’t really appreciate models, so I started going for acting auditions. I remember getting my first role alongside Uche Maduagwu in 2013/14.
You weren’t based in Lagos then?
I used to come to Lagos every week from school (Obafemi Awolowo University, Ife). I used to think as Mr Ideal I could face the crowd, I just saw one scene in the movie with just life lines but I couldn’t deliver, I’m not joking. I had so many takes that I was sweating like Christmas goat, the director was so angry at me. I wasn’t paid but if they had paid me I would have rejected the money because I know I what I did (laughs). I went home thinking about my life and how I risked my life travelling every week to Lagos. The never dying spirit in me made me continue. I’ve read stories of top actors, they never started as top actors. I am one of those actors that learned on the job. I went to a whole lot of auditions that I wasn’t picked. I went for Jenifa’s Diary audition, waited for three days squatting with friends before I was eventually called. I was so excited and told everyone that I’ve been called to join Aunty Funke Akindele’s set, I thought it was a major role but on getting there it was waka pass role. I don’t know what she saw in me but she called me for another movie and guess what? It was still waka pass (laughs).
You are also a script writer, at what point did you become one?
At some point when roles weren’t coming, I learned about script writing too and wrote a couple of scripts. We were on set one day and Funke Akindele came, she saw me and we exchanged pleasantries, the director on set then told her that I now write scripts then she gave me her number that there’s a script conference for Jenifa’s diary and that was how I became a writer on Jenifa’s Diary. From there, I had my first cinema movie ‘Isoken’, my first series with Africa Magic ‘Jemeji’ and from there it’s been a very good ride.
What were you doing before you started acting?
Before I started acting, I was in university. I started acting while at Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Osun State. Before acting came up, I had tried my hands on many things.
I once worked as a sales representative before entering the university and I also managed a salon. I also tried music and modelling before I finally went into acting.
What project shot you into the limelight?
I wouldn’t say that it was a particular project that shot me into the limelight, rather, a couple of projects were responsible for that. Jenifa’s Diary definitely tops the list. It gave me the first exposure. Though the character I played left two to three years ago, people still see me on the road and call me Austin (the character I played in the series). Then, there was Isoken, MTV Shuga, Mums At War, Casanova, Tinsel and others. These movies contributed to taking me to the place I am today.
How long did it take you to hit the limelight?
I wouldn’t even say I see myself as someone that has hit the limelight yet. But of course, I have got a level of fame but the limelight I want to hit is way more than this. I don’t want to be an actor only in Nigeria. I want to be known all over Africa and the world like Burna Boy, Wizkid and Davido. They are pulling the crowd. The way they are doing in music, I also want to do that in acting too because I believe I have the capability to do it. It’s been seven years now since I started acting.
Has stardom deprived you of anything?
Stardom has definitely deprived me of things. My privacy is not there anymore. Sometimes, I just want to go for a peaceful jog but people will recognise me and want to greet me. Some will even stare and stare till I become uncomfortable.
Are you still friends with people you knew before now?
My best friend is my friend since the university days. I still keep my childhood friends and we still talk.
