Ebullient and hugely talented actor, Gabriel Afolayan, speaks of his early inspirations into acting, the Baba Sala connection, his music; and how growing up with his famed dad, Adeyemi Afolayan popularly known as Ade Love, meant he was always going to be grounded in the make-believe profession. He spoke with Gboyega Alaka.
This is a family of actors and movies stars. A movies dynasty, if you like. From ‘world’ famous dad, Adeyemi Afolayan, known popularly as Ade Love; to mothers, aunties and renowned siblings, they all make the front row when it comes to the thespian profession. A few of the notable names that have distinguished themselves from that family include: Kunle Afolayan, Aremu Afolayan, Moji Afolayan; Toyin Afolayan, their aunt, known popularly as Lola Idije; and of course, Gabriel Afolayan.
Though the youngest of the known lot, Gabriel has managed to create and identity for himself, standing out in his acting, whether in the Nigerian English genre or the Yoruba genre, where his late father held sway and co-led Nigeria’s foray into film making as far back as the 1970s, through the 1980s and early 1990s.
For a young man whose siblings had long broken into limelight, one would expect him to struggle for relevance or live in their shadows, but not so for this young man, who has also displayed tremendous talent and ability in music. Known as G-Fresh in the Nigerian music circle, avid followers would remember the love song, Amoke, where aside from the strong love message, Gabriel displayed his acting prowess in the video, depicting a debonair love-struck dude appealing to his sweetheart to follow him home.
Who’s that guy?
For many, including this reporter, the Super Story series: Because you loved me, in which the young actor played the recalcitrant grand-son of late Remi Abiola, was the work that announced his arrival as a star – probably because it ran for weeks and a larger audience saw it. So outstanding was his delivery that many couldn’t help asking the question: Who’s that guy? The passion of execution, rendition of lines, his English and the attending role emotions displayed, which was on point, won many over, such that no one who saw that series every forgot or needed to ask that question again.
Above all, the discovery that he was the son of the late Ade Love and brother of Kunle Afolayan and Moji Afolayan, more than calmed the curious nerves. An apple does not fall far from the tree, they concluded. Where else could such a talent have emerged from?
Settling down to an interview recently with the young man now 38 was, therefore, an opportunity to ask several mind-boggling questions, top of which were: how much influence his father had on him? How old was he when he passed? Was he always with the legendary actor, filmmaker, producer and director, to have so assimilated the thespian act as to have arrived almost fully made? How much effort did he, as an individual, put into becoming the star he became? Surely, being Ade Love’s son wasn’t just enough?
“My dad passed in 1996, when I was a mere eleven years old,” Gabriel began in his cool confident voice. “Of course I was aware of what he was doing, which was majorly acting and making films, and the fact that he was a big star. As my father, I had the opportunity of watching him at work, especially around 1986 when he was directing late comedy doyen, Moses Olaiya’s (Baba Sala) Mosebolatan film. I was around him when he was doing most of the works he did in the late ’80s and early 90s. This of course does not mean that we went to locations with him all the time, but we did step out with him once in a while.”
Despite that affinity, he did not get his first break in acting from his dad.
“My first time in front of the camera was as far back as 1990, as a child actor. It was a commissioned short film from London. It was done by Baba Sala and I was privileged to be around at the time.”
Would that mean he had started showing interest in acting at such an early age?
“Obviously. Don’t forget we were around him (my dad) when he was doing rehearsals and doing all sorts of prepping up for stage tours or film tours. So we’d been seeing things like people coming around to the house to perform, to dance; we’d been seeing him coordinating stuff as well. However my older ones have more knowledge about those times than me.”
You’re talking about Kunle and Aremu?
“Kunle, yes, but Aremu is my own younger brother. However, he is Kunle’s direct younger brother from their own mother. I am from another mother. Moji Afolayan is my own elder sister from my own mother. She is also renowned in Nollywood movies,” he filled in.
Asked if inculcating acting culture in them was a deliberate effort of their dad or that they simply inculcated it, having been born and nurtured in the environment, Gabriel said it is the latter.
“The latter is the case, but it was from inspiration arising from what we’d all been seeing, what we had lived and grown up with. However, his policy was for us all to be totally educated, even if we had interest in what he was doing. He was never against any of us taking up acting, which was why he was either using some of my elders as child actors or having them around to witness things; but he never compromised on education. Get educated first and then you can explore your interest in acting, was his mantra.”
On when he really began to pick interest in acting, Gabriel said, “I’d say around the time I featured in that Baba Sala’s film. Subsequently and over the years, I was more of an Ibadan person, so I had closer relationship with the Moses Olaiya family, which impacted greatly on me. Some other flicks that he had done, like Diamond (1994), I was part of as well. Around 2002 and 2003, I got an audition notice from Tade Ogidan for the series he was trying to do at the time, called ‘Behind the siege.’ It featured me and Tope Oshin as brother and sister. That was like a comeback for me, after school. Right after that, Tade was doing another Yoruba flick, Madam Dearest, and he again brought me in. That was a job breakout for me, before the Super Story era. I was the son that had three identities in that one.
Asked how he was able to post such huge performance in the Super Story series, Gabriel gave all credit to God, and to his dedication to the craft.
“One thing is to have a legacy of that magnitude; another thing is being able to carry on from where that stopped. And you can’t lay all credit to yourself. So I’m going to be grateful for a talent given by God. I’d therefore say it is dedication to the craft and God’s grace. Like I said, what is most important is the fact that I wanted to do it. Even though I was inspired by the legacy, I had a passion for it as well. But I also had to go through the normal drilling, which was why I went in for Theatre Arts at the University of Ibadan. Mine wasn’t a case of just wanting to act; I wanted to know about the craft. Right after I left UI, I was in London for about a year at the Identity Drama School; that’s the school that was responsible for John Boyega, for further studies.”
Point of decision
“The desire to pursue acting as a career actually took roots in me I think around 1997, 1998. The revelation was stationed and it was very very direct around that time. It’s either I was replicating things being done or feeling like it could be done better. Half of the time, watching things critically gets you more inspired. I was watching great movies materials from the Asian continent; Chinese films, American films; because it was a house in which we were well raised with all sorts of materials. So the knowledge about filmmaking was always right there in front of me. It was now a case of finding the magic behind it. Even though I had it as a practical orientation, I needed to seek the theoretical side.
“And I was very close to music as well at the time. I was even following a one-man band, doing backup for people around studios; I was a collector. I was always hanging around DJs, cutting tapes, rehearsing and forming one group or the other. So, the theatre wall has always been very open to me, and I could see where I could fit in. It was more affirmative to say, ‘this feels like purpose now, like a desire to nurture, to morph into it…”
Much like the case of a kid playing football for fun, who suddenly took a decision to take it more seriously?
“Yessss…!” Gabriel stressed his agreement.
“…And then going to an academy and all that to horn the talent. And before you know it, everything turns real. There was always one thing though. I grew up being inspired by my mum and the rest of the older people, and they always told me that whatever comes to you first is the authentic thing. The minute you start saying ‘what if’, then you’re second guessing it. They told me that there is a reason that thought came first. It’s like you want to make a call, and then you say it is late. Why not make that call and let him miss your call.
“Around 1999, I got a scholarship to go to NFI (the Nigerian Film Institute) in Jos; however, it was strictly film but I wanted Theatre Studies first, of which I felt the university would offer more. So I let that offer go just to be grilled in all the stuff from the very grassroots of Athens, Greece to Rome in Italy. I was very deliberate. “
How much of dad’s influence?
Now the conversion shifts to his legendary dad. Just how much of Adeyemi Afolayan or Ade Love’s direct influence propelled him? Did he at any point held him by the hand?
“It’s a big family, that’s number one. Number two, kids in the house would grow at a different set and time. So there was always time for each set of children to be with him on anything. So we saw him at different times. In short, he was one of the first persons to inspire in me the realism in acting. He was natural, a realistic actor. He wasn’t the type that would try to be what he’s not. Whatever he’s playing, he plays it to his comfort zone – be it when he was playing a double role, and he played that in two movies- Ija Orogun and Iyaniwura; and you could see the dexterity even at that time. How many of his contemporaries were as insightful as to attempt something like that? He was one of the few that experimented with that double twins role in movies, and he did it so well. The level of delivery was something very high to behold. And then he was executive-producing such films, writing them, writing some of the scripts, even directing them; and also playing the risk card of getting loans and inviting international crews to come and film here; because it was either 35mm or 16 mm at the time. What other inspiration could I ask for? He was a big go-getter.
Read Also: Kunle Afolayan reveals Inspiration behind ‘Anikulapo’
“So home was habitat for all you could ask for in terms of the craft. We ate, drank and slept film-making. And once they were taking films on tour, we were the kids who went there to sell stick meats, drinks and stuff like that. We were well grounded in the culture of film-making; from pre-production, to production, to post-production and even the business sides. If you talk about box office, we’ve been privileged to stand in box office to sell tickets; our mothers have done same; so also our uncles. So you see all these things and you have a confirmation that this is exactly what you want to do. They make some very good solidification of the mindset.”
When reminded that practitioners at the time, his dad inclusive, still didn’t seem to make much money and couldn’t boast of financial fulfilment, Gabriel stated outright that: “It was never lucrative at the time.” Why then did he resolve to pursue a career in it?
“That’s what’s funny,” he replied. “We saw all those processes. But it was passion-oriented for a whole lot of them, (which we caught). Some were not well educated to even think they could step things up by getting funding by way of loans. They were just satisfied with performing within their local geopolitical zones. They had no money to do films. Like I said, it was just a few people like my dad who had the audacity and sagacity to step out to get loans and start making films, and that was why it looked like he was among the top bosses at the time; not that they were better than all the other guys who were taking their acts around on stage.”
But Baba Sala who stepped out to get a loan got his fingers burnt, this reporter stated, reminding Gabriel of how the legendary comedian’s big budget film, Orun Mooru’s master tape was stolen and pirated.
“That is why he and my dad were best friends forever. They started together with stage. My dad was with him as part of his early cast. If you know the Baba Sala structure, you will know there was a voice of reasoning called Adisa, who always stepped in to correct his illiterate friend or save him from himself. My dad was the first ‘Adisa’. Then he was Amoda Oojere. It was when my dad wanted to pull out to go and stand on his own and explore film-making, that Adisa was recruited.
“Back then, no other person had the balls except Ola Balogun to go into film making. And that was why dad had to team up with him to produce Ija Ominira. It was that partnership that shot my dad to fame as a top boss in the film industry. The late Pa Hubert Ogunde had to seek him out for his first film. My dad was the one who got him the crew to shoot Aiye. That was why, though he was older, he revered him a lot – probably the only practitioner in the industry that Ogunde really revered. Before then, they were all just doing stage. And of course, film is universal; that’s why most actors want to migrate from stage to film. That’s the only place where your performance can be retained and it’ll be the same and reach the end of the world; unlike the stage play that is only seen by the crowd in the hall, which they may not even be able to recall. Most of those who made films at that time had to consult with my dad, even up to the part where they had to take the films to the film lab in London.”
The Baba Sala connection
Were the two movies maestros so close that he, as a kid could go live in Baba Sala’s home in Ibadan? Or was there a blood relationship that the world didn’t know of?
“They were indeed close, but it went beyond that. One of Baba Sala’s wives was my mum’s elder sister. If you followed Baba Sala’s production very well, you would remember a character called Kariile. That’s her. So it was easy for me to thrive around the two families back and forth. I’d go to Lagos to see dad and what he was doing, and then I’d go to back to school in Ibadan and spend time with the Moses Olaiya (Baba Sala) family. So I was exposed to different talents on display in these homes, sometimes at very crude levels. Some of those who came to rehearse were mechanics, vulcanisers, but they still came together to explore their passion. It was a sort of joy for them; the fact that they were able to make people happy. That they got into a neighbourhood and everybody recognised them. That was the money they were getting at the time, because there were no multinationals to back them up. Imagine if there was the internet and social networking at the time? The standard would have snowballed and we would have since been Holywood (of Africa). The standard of Nollywood would have been great because we would have done great things. Imagine people from Africa shooting films on celluloid then. That’s the same thing they were making films for Indiana Jones at the time. The same format. It was either film or nothing, there was no digital filming.
“Do you know what would have happened if that tradition had continued? Do you know how many people would have seen Taxi driver and all those other films? Even people like Spike Lee would have seen them. My dad and Ola Balogun were attending some major film festivals and even met the Bollywood legend, Shahid Kapoor; only they were unable to achieve a crossover. They made those moves everybody is trying to make now. They did Mr Johnson here in 1989. TK (Tunde Kelani) was my dad’s personal continuity announcer; Oga Bello (Adebayo Salami) was my dad’s production manager.”
Life as a celebrity kid actor
“People throwing their love at you is not something new with the practice. It depends on how you take it. But it’s part of the training; this fame that you’re seeking, how do you handle it? There is training in the theatre that handles that. You have to be polite, because it is opportunity meets grace for you. They also won’t mind being on the screen, so what you should do is make them know that they also could be like you; and that it’s just that everybody is on a different journey. And now you can see the proof; being famous is no longer limited to movies stars and celebrities. Every day, we see how normal people can blow up in what they know how to do overnight. And that’s the reason one has to be polite. That person you feel you cannot talk to may be the next influencer that the world, even you, is craving to share content with. This is especially as it is now a world of do-it-yourself (DIY) and people can be in their toilet and produce things that’ll go viral and turn them into big stars overnight. Over-exposure has also devalued things. Back then, you could hold onto materials for up to two years -whether music or film, but nowadays in a matter of one week, people are looking elsewhere; because of how accessible and common the process of making them has become.”
His music
Having registered his presence in the very competitive Nigerian music industry, one couldn’t but ask where that came from. Did he also learn that from his dad and his friend, Baba Sala?
“Yes,” he again replied. “It’s a tradition in the theatre. Most times, it is coincidental that most actors can also sing. But if you’re really trained in the theatre, you would know that there are some shows that you would have to partake in that would require you to sing. So relatively, most theatre people could sing. It’s very rare to see a properly trained theatre person who cannot sing.”
Does he plan to also do music full-scale?
Gabriel or more appropriately for this subject, G-Fresh, says he plans to do music in full as well. As a matter of fact, he revealed that he is planning a mini-concert soon and would also be dropping a body of work titled “Beyond the box soon.
Most challenging works?
Gabriel would not pick any of his many works, reason being that he does not like to dwell on works done.
“I don’t like holding onto the stress that comes with a work; that is so that I can easily let go and prepare for something else.”
He however singled out the movies, Kanaani, which recently got nominated for Best Film in West Africa for AMVCA 2023, probably for the fact that he had to speak the Ishan language of South-South Nigeria, which he originally didn’t have competence in.
Relationship with star siblings
Contrary to the narrative that may be playing out there, Gabriel said, they have the best relationship ever.
He also waved insinuations that they rarely star together in flicks: “I’m in Kunle’s Hannatu Ijogbon, and soon to be released, Anikulapo series.
