Aisha Lawal Oladunni is an actor, scriptwriter and filmmaker. A native of Ibadan, Oyo State, she attended Adeen International School and Federal Government College, Ogbomoso. She later went to the Lead City University, where she obtained a degree in Law and a second degree in Public Administration. To fulfill her acting career, Lawal attended Femi Adebayo’s J15 School of Performing Arts from 2008 to 2010 and landed her first film, Adunmadeke and rose to fame after her role in Irugbin, ever since she has acted in over 100 movies. Lawal, who is also a producer, featured in Kunle Afolayan Netflix movie, Aníkúlápó, and more recently, Jagun Jagun. She spoke to IJEOMA THOMAS-ODIA on the Yoruba movie industry.
At what point did you realise you wanted to be an actor?
I joined the movie industry in 2008 and chose acting, because in my final year, the school said we should go for one vocational course, so, I went for it. Before I went into acting, I met with Taiwo Ibikunle when he came to my school with Yemi Akinkotun and the likes. They came with a script and they did a stage performance then (Moremi), they did audition for us and I came out as the lead character and it was a big deal for me.
You studied law, would you at any point decide to take it up and defend cases in the courtroom?
Never say never, you know; but for now, I like my job. It’s like being paid for your hobby. It can be stressful but it gives me joy though Law gives me joy too, I will stick to acting for now. Maybe later in the future, at a particular age, I might return to law as an academician to teach but not appear in court.
How did your parents feel when you left law and ventured into full time acting?
My mum didn’t like it, my dad would have loved it, but he is late. So, I had to assure my mum that this won’t in anyway affect my studies and it won’t affect anything about my person. Afterwards, I went for my second degree just to prove a point to my mum that the fact that I am into acting does not mean I won’t pursue my academic career too.
So, personally, what has changed about you significantly since you began acting?
I am wiser. I learned a lot in the past, I am still learning in the course of my career. I have learned and still learning from the media, you guys have taught me a lot. I learn from friends, family, and colleagues. It’s a journey into oneself, it’s a discovery of yourself because you are actually on your own. You don’t get to attend family functions as expected, you don’t get to visit friends often and if you are not careful, you will get lost. And you have to also cut down on the job you do.
What are the most challenging moments in your career that made you want to give it all up?
A lot! In 2010, I almost lost it, I was always trekking to locations, there was no money, I was very broke, so, I was tired and was depressed. But my boss, Femi Adebayo kept saying, you will get there; when you get there it will look like a dream. My family members were all talking, that why will I drop my certificate for acting and I will still not make money for it?
Tell us about your role in Jagun Jagun, how long did it take you get into character?
Sincerely it wasn’t long. There are some movies that you get their script and you know that this is going to be a big deal, I should seize this opportunity and make something good come out of it. I just knew that I would give it my A-game. In fact, I didn’t know the days they were going to shoot the scenes but it happened.
Will it be right to say, your acting strength is in Epic movies?
Most actors within my age try to run away from epic movie production because of the incantations and the like. I am a strong believer of standing up to challenges. I have done well in other movies I was involved in, but honestly, I derive so much joy in promotion of our cultural values and that you can only see and appreciate more in epic movies.
As a thespian in the industry, what are some of the things you look out for in a script?
I look out for how challenging the role is and then I look out for the storyline generally. If it’s something I want to be a part of, will it challenge me? Or am I going there because they are going to pay me a lot of money. Also, I love to a part of a good production and the spice has to be a good script.
Over the years, you have grown but we do not see any social media drama on your part, how do you keep it sane?
I’m a Yoruba girl, I’m from Ibadan. We have a saying that it’s what we hide that is treasured. My mum is a retired principal and she was in the academics. You do some things and my mum will use cane to reset your brain. Honestly, I do everything to avoid anything that my children will read in future and say their mum was bad.
A lot of young actors do not see things that way, they believe that controversy will sell them, what is your stand on this?
Everybody knows publicity is good; the good, bad and ugly. I think a clean slate is also good. If you have a clean board whatever you write on it will be seen. Once you start writing a lot of jargons and you clean and write again it won’t be too clear.
