Bimbo Akintola Journey into Movies

I went into the movies because it’s an area I felt I had great talents for. Right from childhood, I had felt for the arts. It was very difficult for me to do other things. Even though my father didn’t trust I could live and survive, put food on my table with theatre arts, I was very much interested in it and it was not until I couldn’t do anything else that my father allowed me to go for a diploma at the University of Ibadan before I then went on for a Bachelors of Arts degree in the same area of study.

First movie

I had found myself doing several movies even though I tried to restrict myself or I would be seen doing everything without rest. I love my holiday very much and would take out time to rest. Theatre is a whole lot of mental work, so one must be very careful. The first movie I did was Owo Blow directed by Tade Ogidan. One of my old school mates at the University of Ibadan, Bassey Okon Esanetok had taken me to Lola Fani-Kayode who was then preparing me for Family Ties and I got a role in the soaps. It was after that that I got a call from one of those who featured in Family Ties that Tade was doing Owo Blow and I met with him.

Other movies

After Owo Blow, I went ahead to do Out of Bounds with RMD; Back to life, The Gardener, Diamond Ring with Tade again. I was also in other Yoruba movies like Ibu Ika, Iwa Eda, Ogede Didun and so on.

It is difficult to count the number of movies I have done. I could say I have been extremely lucky because it is only God that gives favours. I did The Mourning After with Jimi Odumosu. This was very tasking because I played a widow and was really traumatised. I had to cut my hair to do that movie. I was in Dangerous Twins with Tade Ogidan again.

Excerpts from Vanguard Newspaper 2006


Journey into the movies

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