Tag: DEYEMI OKANLAWON

Actor and filmmaker Deyemi Okanlawon has expressed concern over the recent surge in cases of people collapsing and dying suddenly.

Okanlawon’s comments followed the tragic deaths of Nigerian music legend Onyeka Onwenu and Yoruba vlogger Afobaje, who both passed away after collapsing.

Read Also: Deyemi Okanlawon fires back at Nollywood movie critic

Deyemi took to social media to share his thoughts, revealing that he has heard of at least five similar cases in the past week.

He questioned whether proper investigations and autopsies were being conducted to determine the cause of these sudden deaths.

The actor’s tweet sparked a conversation about the need for thorough medical examinations and investigations into these incidents.

“The rate at which people are just slumping and dying… I heard of about 5 in the last few weeks. Forgive my paranoia but I wonder if any proper autopsies and investigations are being done cos most of took those vaccs!”, he wrote.

Actor Deyemi Okanlawon has opened up about the challenges he faced early in his acting career.

Despite his talent, he said he was repeatedly rejected by producers due to his limited social media presence.

In a recent interview on the Echoo Room Podcast, Okanlawon recalled feeling frustrated and undervalued, but instead of giving up, he chose to focus on building his brand.

“Not having Instagram followers hindered me. I’d tell myself, ‘I’m the guy who comes to kill himself on set. Why am I being judged by the number of followers I have?” he said.

“I said to myself, there’s no point fighting it.’ There’s always going to be a new set of people who focus more on the brand than they are on the craft. So I said, ‘Let me start some brand-building.”

His persistence paid off when he received opportunities to work with industry heavyweights like Funke Akindele, Kunle Afolayan, Kemi Adetiba and Mo Abudu.

“Just when I thought everything was over, I got a call from Funke Akindele, next was Kunle Afoloyan, Kemi Adetiba then Mo Abudu [and] Niyi Akimoloyan. At the end of 2020, Omo Ghetto the Saga hit the cinemas and became the highest-grossing movie and I was the lead actor. I also became the highest-grossing actor at the time too,” he said.

His breakthrough role in the hit movie “Omo Ghetto: The Saga” cemented his status as a leading actor in Nollywood.

Read Also: Deyemi Okanlawon shares last conversation with Aderounmu

Okanlawon also shared his admiration for fellow actors Richard Mofe Damijo, Olu Jacobs, and himself, citing them as inspirations.

When asked about his aspirations, Okanlawon emphasised that his ultimate goal was greatness, not just success in acting.

He encouraged aspiring actors to think big and pursue their dreams without limitations, saying: “Acting was never the dream. Greatness was the dream. Anytime anybody comes to me to tell me they want to act, the first thing I ask is ‘What else do you know? If you are a martial artist, for instance, and you come into the acting industry, you’re different. Learn to not box yourself into one thing. Bring something else. Learn something. Don’t be a small dreamer. Go for it all. Never let your current situation limit the size of your dreams,” he said.

Actor and producer, Deyemi Okanlawon, shared his insights on transitioning from making social media skits to acting.

Okanlawon emphasised the importance of perseverance and hard work in achieving success in the acting industry.

In a recent episode of the Echoo Room podcast, he said: “If you’re ever trying to do anything different from the norm if you’re known for something and you’re trying to do something different, it’s going to be difficult.”

“Nobody is going to readily roll over and allow you; I’ve learned that the hard way. So if anyone finds themselves in that situation, what I would suggest is to just keep that vision alive and keep working towards it”

The actor reflected on his own experience with typecasting, where he was initially known for playing villain roles.

However, he said he took the opportunity to showcase his versatility by playing each role differently and believably.

“There was a time in my career when I was the bad boy of Nollywood; I was the Nollywood villain and I saw it but I didn’t particularly like it. I wanted to play the loverboy, the good guy, or the pastor, but they were giving me the villain.”

Going further, he explained how his approach eventually made filmmakers see that he could be more than just a bad boy.

Read Also: Deyemi Okanlawon shares last conversation with Aderounmu

“I said to myself, ‘This is the opportunity that I have’ to maximise this opportunity and so I took every villain that was ever asked to play and I made them so different and still so believable. They tried to put me in a box but I made sure I painted the box differently and I worked with what I had until people started to realise that I could do more,” he narrated.

Okanlawon encouraged aspiring actors facing similar challenges to keep their vision alive and work towards their goals.

He emphasized that success in the acting industry requires extra effort and dedication.

“I think that anyone who finds themselves in a situation where they feel like the path where they want to be is not readily available, I think they need to put in the extra work and it will happen,” Deyemi concluded.

Filmmaker Deyemi Okanlawon has mourned colleague Adejumoke Aderounmu who passed away on Saturday April 6, 2024. 

Deyemi shared his last conversation with the deceased on November 23, 2024.

He sent her a text, stating her thought crossed his mind, which was why he reached out.

Adejumoke replied by asking after his kids, and saying that she would also reciprocate his gesture by reaching out to him.

Read Also: Jimmy Odukoya inspired my fitness journey – Deyemi Okanlawon

Captioning the post, Deyemi wrote: “Death brings everything into perspective oftentimes helping us see how trivial some of the things we concern ourselves with are.

“Jumoke I am so so sorry, I thought we had all the time in the world and really should have just called. Goodbye my dear friend. We will continue the conversations in a better place! Pls pick up the phone and call someone you love today..”

Actor Deyemi Okanlawon has revealed how his friend, Pastor Jimmy Odukoya encouraged and inspired his fitness journey.

He stated this in an interview with Teju Babyface on the King of Talks podcast when asked about his fitness as an actor.

He said that before 2022, his primary goal of working out was to look the part for a movie role, but Odukoya encouraged him to always be fit.

“A year ago, I decided that I wanted to be ready and fit all the time. One of my best friends convinced me, you probably know him, and now I’m forced to add ‘pastor’ to his name,” he started.

Read Also: Deyemi Okanlawon: I wished for a girl-child but…

“Pastor Jimi Odukoya is a gym buff, and we used to work out together before he became the senior pastor and he just inspired me to look a certain kind of way, to be strong, fit and healthy. So there is nothing I do that is primarily to become a ‘chick magnet,” he added.

Deyemi explained further that his new regimen works for him and is also beneficial to his career.

“An actor is essentially his voice, emotions and body, and for me to be where I want to be all these things come together.

“If I had a film coming up and I knew that there was going to be some showing of skin, I used to go hard for two or three months. Then one year later I wouldn’t even go near a gym. Now, I’m healthy and it works for the films too,” he said.

Actor Deyemi Okanlawon has acknowledged his wife, praising her for tolerance and high level of trust especially when it comes to female fans hovering around him.

He explained his wife doesn’t even follow him on social media and that is because of the conversation they had before he hit stardom. 

Speaking in a recent episode on the Deep Dive podcast hosted by comedian Teju Babyface, Okanlawon said: “If look away, there is a person, that is my baby girl [my wife]. I remember one time I went out with friends and some lady tried to kiss me. Not once has my wife ever questioned me about female fans flirting with me.

Read Also: Deyemi Okanlawon: I wished for a girl-child but…

“My wife has not been following me on social media for years. She has never followed me on social media.”

The Nation reported that he said he never wanted to be an actor, stressing that he struggles to handle fame.

“I don’t understand fame. I have never dreamt of being an actor. If certain things had happened the way I wanted it to happen, I would never have left the cooperate world,” he said.

Actor Deyemi Okanlawon has recounted how he quit acting because his wife, Damilola, “became uncomfortable”.

In a recent interview with Teju Babyface, Deyemi spoke about leaving his corporate job and his 10-year acting career.

According to the father of three, his wife supported him when he started acting but she became uncomfortable after a few years.

He said he agreed with his wife initially to act for one year but gigs started coming in and led to years of continuous acting. 

The 44-year-old said he stopped acting in 2019 but had to return in 2020 after seeking his wife’s permission.

He said: “I remember sitting my wife down. We got married in January, this was August. I sat her down and said this is what is going on. And I am scared. We talked through it and I assured her that look, we had some money here. I have invested some money over here. I am kind of good for us over one or two years,” he said.

“But I am still scared. She reminded me one night and she said ‘I have watched you shoot from 7 am to 7 am the next day and you were more alive at the end of that 24-hour shoot. This is what you obviously love to do. And I see you wake up and try to go to work dragging yourself. Maybe you should do this’. With that, I was emboldened to make that move.

“I did the first gig. The next gig came. And what I thought was going to be a year, I actually kind of said ‘babe let us try this thing for a year. So after one year, the jobs fell into the next year. It has been 10 years going to the 11th.

“In the middle of the fifth year, my wife woke me up in the middle of the night and said ‘young man, this is not the deal. What is happening?’ I was like it is working.

Read Also: Deyemi Okanlawon: I wished for a girl-child but…

“I have noticed for the first, second years… I asked for some time. So in 2019, I quit acting. I picked up my resume and I went back to work. I was hired as the head of marketing for Silverbird film distribution. I go back into marketing. I did not tell anybody I was not acting anymore. People call me and I just said I am not available.

“One of the reasons why I left, apart from the fact that my wife was not comfortable, was that it felt like something was not working. It was very frustrating. She wanted the change. I saw I needed the change. Working with one international streamer was the plan moving forward.”  

Actor Deyemi Okanlawon has revealed how he wished for a girl child but the thought of raising a girl child set his mind back as compared to lesser responsibility of raising a boy child. 

In a recent sit down with Teju Babyface on the latest episode of the King of Talks podcast, Deyemi opened up about what being a father to three boys is like.

“I told my wife that I only have men inside me and I have the energy for them. Especially now that my wife is out of town with the baby and I’m left with the boys, we’ve been giving each other gbas gbos.

“As much as I would love to have a little princess in my arms, raising a princess is a huge responsibility. You know how we guys are, you could throw us on the road and when we wake up one day, we would have grown up.

Read Also: Deyemi Okanlawon’s ‘All’s fair in Love’ hits N90m in box office

“When we found out that we were having a baby, I wished it was a girl but I realised that ‘man, she’s just going to steal my heart and my time and I won’t be able to take my eyes away from her.’ When we found out it was a boy we were like ‘Okay, God knows what he wants but never say never,” he said.

Teju Babyface also asked the actor about the cost implications of having three children.

“Listen, there’s the kind of money that you’d have that the number of children you want to have won’t be a problem. If you have assets worth $10 million and you’re generating 5-10 per annum, how much do you want to spend on kids? Why are we limiting ourselves? It’s fun raising beautiful human beings and guiding, teaching them and just loving them and being loved in return,” he explained.

Filmmaker and actor, Deyemi Okanlawon, has shared his response to a fan who questioned his relentless hustle and aggressive promotion of his movies like a rookie.

According to him, despite his significant achievements in the Nollywood industry, the fans perceived his actions as those of beginners.

Sharing the experience, Deyemi Okanlawon stated in the post that the motivation behind his marketing approach is ‘brokenness’.

Angered by the question, he affirmed that he blocked the troll for reminding him of the responsibilities on his neck as a man.

Read Also: I would’ve been a pastor if I wasn’t an actor – Deyemi Okanlawon

He said: “Someone said ‘Deyemi you be senior man na, why you dey promote your film like say you be rookie’… for a brief second all the many ppl who depend on me flashed through my mind, I smiled and blocked the id*ot!.”

He further added to the post: “Being broke as a man is very degrading and frustrating. To every man who’s putting in the work to change his financial status for the better, I hope you win soon bro, I hope things get better for you real soon.”