Dad insisted on education before allowing me to act - Yewande Adekoya, Nollywood actress

Yewande Adekoya, an actress, speaks with ’NONYE BEN-NWANKWO of Punch Newspaper about her career and relationship with popular film marketer, Olasco.



Read the interview below:

How I got involved in  acting

I don’t want to be called a Yoruba actress. I am a Nollywood actress. Also, I am a movie producer and I have produced basically television soap operas and drama series in English language. I produced my first soap in 2006; it was titled Life Secrets. I got involved in Yoruba movies because I found out that I had a better chance of going higher in the movies. Before then, I used to attend auditions. They told me that I am a very good actress, but I look very small. They always expect somebody to be six feet tall.
I would say my height and physique posed a challenge to me. Initially, I didn’t see my stature as a challenge. But people commented so much about it. I still don’t see it as a problem. It is just some people’s mindset. Viewers at home don’t care if an actress is short or tall. They only want somebody who can entertain them.  But when I started appearing in Yoruba movies I didn’t encounter such a problem. Maybe it is because I gave it a shot when I produced my own movie. I played a role in the movie and people saw that I could act. Movie fans started asking for me and wanted me to appear in more movies. So other producers had no other choice than to cast me in their films. From then on, I started getting roles. I am not as young as I look. I have always been a story teller from the time I was in primary school. I used to pick up a pencil and paper and do some illustrations for my stories. I learnt how to write scripts in secondary school. I knew I had the talent. I was never interested in making it a profession. I was more interested in telling stories.  As time went on, people came to tell me that I was a good actress. I actually started acting in 2002 with a theatre troupe. We were involved in stage productions. But I wanted to try my hands on television and movie productions. So, I left the troupe and started my own production outfit. My first production was well funded by my parents. I hired an all-Yoruba crew for the production. They were the ones that suggested that I go into Yoruba movies because they felt I would have a greater chance of going higher. I shot my first Yoruba movie in 2009. The movie was titled Igbo Dudu. It was the movie that made me decide to become an actress. When I wrote and produced it, the review I got was appreciable.
A lot of people commended me and even my marketer said they broke even.  I took a bold step by getting involved in movie production before I started acting. I have featured in many other movies and I have worked with many people.

Parental support

My father is educated. He is an engineer and he is exposed. Initially, he opposed my choice of career when I started in 2002. He wanted me to get a degree first. He suggested that I should complete my education first before any other thing. So I got into school and studied Mass Communication. By the time I decided to produce my own TV soap, my father readily approved it. I come from a slightly above average family. I attended private schools and Babcock University, which is also a private institution. Growing up was very nice.
I am still living with my parents. My younger siblings are married and they have left our home. I want to get married so that I can leave home too. I am the first child in a family of five. I don’t feel bad that my siblings got married before me. They graduated before me. I was in Lagos State University before I left and went to Babcock University.

Challenges

It has not been easy at all. If I didn’t have a passion for acting, I would have dusted my certificate and walked into a TV station to get a job. You don’t earn any salary in this kind of job. You have to work hard to earn money. If I weren’t an actress, I would have been a broadcaster. But I am not ruling it out yet. You may see me on TV tomorrow presenting a programme. I may host or anchor a programme on TV soon. Despite the challenges, I can do anything in entertainment. I may experiment with singing one of these days.

Life without scandals

God has been on my side. That is just how I have managed to stay off scandals. But then, my parents brought me up well. I have been able to manage myself well. God forbid that I fight over a man. I will never fight over a man. I am not in that category of girls that fight over men. I am engaged to a guy that I love. I met him when I was an actress. He is used to the kind of job I do. He is not an actor, though he is involved in our industry.

Role models

I don’t particularly have a role model, but I have so many people I admire. I like Genevieve a lot. I admire Omotola, Bukky Wright and Angelina Jolie and Julia Roberts.

How I met Olasco

I wasn’t sure about who would market Igbo Dudu after I finished shooting the movie. In 2011, I called a friend to escort me to Olasco’s office. We went and I introduced myself to him. I told him to watch it and see if he would be interested in it. The following morning, I got a call from him saying that he liked the movie. That was how he decided to market my movie. I am not ready to tell you how much he paid me.

Aspiration

By the grace of God, I want to be bigger than I can imagine. I am a producer and actress. I want to produce more movies. I want to be a strong brand. I want my name to be synonymous with good standard movies. I dream to make it big in the movie industry.

Coping with fans

People never knew who I was until recently. They see me on the road and they stop me. My fans base has so much increased.

I am enjoying it at the moment. But my senior colleagues are telling me that I will soon be bothered about the accolades I receive from fans.


Source: Punchng