Popular Nollywood actor, Lateef Adedimeji, has opened up on his journey to stardom.
Adedimeji, while speaking to Punch, disclosed that he intentionally built a reputation for crying in movies.
According to him, crying in movies was his initial strategy, and people started referring to him as the guy who cries in movies. He stated that he later switched things up and introduced his Igbo-Yoruba character
He said, “When I set out to carve a niche for myself, I started with crying—I would cry like an idiot. If I was asked to cry for one minute, I would go for two. So, I was intentional. At one point, when people couldn’t remember my name, they would refer to me as “the guy who cries in movies. When I realised that was becoming too overwhelming, I switched things up by introducing my Igbo-Yoruba character. I was strategic at every stage.
“Then ‘Ayinla’ came, and people saw a musical side of me they hadn’t seen before. ‘Jagun Jagun’ followed, and they discovered my strength in action roles. At every turn, I made sure to reinvent myself strategically.”
Asked how he feels about ‘Lisabi’ being one of the movies that dominated Google Search in 2024, he said, “I am excited. The joy is that one does something and a lot of people accept what one has done. There is nothing has joyful as that.”
On the importance of filmmakers telling indigenous stories, he stated, “If we can embrace the heroes of other countries, what happens to our own heroes? There are people that fought for our own liberation, so why can’t we tell their stories and appreciate them as well?”