Lateef Adedimeji is a popular face in Nollywood and has become an industry cynosure. Recently, he was selected to play the role of the former governor of Lagos State and presidential aspirant, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, whose biopic, ‘Last man standing’ is currently being filmed for release later this month. ROTIMI IGE caught up with him on set last week and presents the excerpts of their interaction.
We have seen you as the lead character in several biopics – ‘Ayinla’ and ‘Ige’ included, making you a sort of an expert on these kinds of films. What’s are some of the key lessons you have learned from playing roles like these in the past that you also plan to bring into your role as Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu in the movie, ‘Last man standing’?
I really don’t know why I am always called upon to play these roles. This is going to be my fourth biopic. I did ‘Ayinla’, ‘Ige’, ‘Strangers’ and now this. I believe it is the versatility and being able to key into other people and bring the character to life. That is you being an actor. Studying other people and making sure that you can drop you at a time you need to play them and bring them into reality.
Acting a real person that exists, a person who has fans, friends, family and people who know him and expect you to portray that person accurately, do you ever feel worried about not getting it right?
It is always scary. It is a different ball game if the person is no longer around. But this is somebody that is alive. Someone that can sit and watch you play him, and if you don’t get it right he will say so eventually. It is a lot of work. I had to watch Youtube studying his mannerism; the way he talks, moves, smiles and all of that and then try to replicate that. It is you forgetting yourself totally for the duration of the shooting.
In the course of your research, are there things that you didn’t know about him before that you have found out?
Since I was told about the role, I have been watching him closely. I have even read about him. What is most important is seeing the person a few times, then closing your eyes and bringing all you have read and heard about the person to you and letting it flow naturally. Somehow, you will key into it unknowingly. That has been my pattern. From the way Asiwaju Tinubu talks slowly, picking his words one after the other, and the way he drops his jokes. A lot of people won’t notice that he can be a comedian because he seems straight to the point. But in his words, if you pay attention, you will notice the comic quality in some of his words. I hope for the best with this production.
Knowing that Asiwaju Tinubu is one man that is constantly in the news, how does it make you feel?
At first, when I was told about the project, my first response was that I was not interested. It is scary. Politics can be scary, and what came to my head was that this is politics, and it is something I am always scared of. Now, Asiwaju is not a mere politician, he is a major stakeholder. He is a man that has a lot going on around him, a lot of controversies happening all at the same time, and thinking that in the peak of all of these is when these producers wanted to put this out, I refused. But again, I know that it is going to be another stretch for me as an actor. I am taking this because I want to challenge myself again, I want to see how far I can push myself again.
Do you believe playing this role would be a defining point of your career?
Yes, this would be one of the defining points because this is a tough one. At the end of it all, the man himself is going to have a few things to say about my interpretation and pass judgement. That is one thing that has been ringing in my head.
Have you ever been lucky to meet the man himself?
I have never met him.
What are your expectations after the movie?
First, I expect to be able to carry the role, and also that people are able to see another form of me as an actor. I hope that it is going to be another stepping stone for me in my career. That is basically all I am about. My career is about the most important thing to me now, so I am putting a lot of effort into it to see that it gets me to another level. I pray that I am able to deliver it in a way that people will say, congratulations, you did well.
Having watched, listened to, read about him and tried to embody him in this film, who would you say Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu is, and why would you think he does the things he does.
There is a lot to say about him, people would always have a different opinion. For me, he is a philanthropist, a man that goes after whatever he wants. I see a man that sees what he wants and goes for it. There are a whole lot of things that are notable about him, but I just need to pick one and hammer on, and that is the aspect of him as a go-getter.
Do you think he is misunderstood? Because you are playing him in this movie and people are going to refer to you as him at some point or even assume you know him.
Ha! You know I am an actor not a politician so I don’t know many of these things. Basically, having gone through the script I understand the part I am trying to work on, and that is the part I am sticking to, so that I don’t start running helter skelter looking for something that is not lost.
What social message have you seen in this film that you think will resonate with Nigerians?
People will always have diverse opinions and things to say. But I feel that it is important for people to learn that when you see people or when you know people, take your time to know the truth. They can say someone is terrible and when you study the person you see that even in all the terrible things there is something fascinating about them. Also, someone considered all good and revered by society can be discovered to be sub par. That is all normal, it is being human. If all that is being said about you as a person is good, check yourself, there is something wrong; and if you are that man that all that is said about you is bad, check yourself.
I will say every role because it would be sad that I am given a particular role and I cant deliver it to the best of my ability, it doesn’t make me the actor I wish to be. The only thing that can happen is that it can be challenging, but I must be able to key into it, forget Lateef, and absolutely become the character. If you are still able to sense Lateef, then it means I am not the actor I want to be. That separation must be there totally.
You are getting a lot of attention now. Are you impressed with how far you have come as an actor based on the kind of roles you get?
Yes. I am impressed with myself. For the first time in my career, I told myself in front of Uncle Tunde Kelani that “excuse me, sir, I am proud of myself.”
What ingredients make you accept a script to interpret?
A lot. The first important thing is the story.
Story is very key to me because you can have millions to shoot a movie without a good story. The plot, the message you are looking to pass across; even if it’s a comedy, there must be a unique message. There are stories without a message. Also, I am particular about who my co-stars will be, who is directing it… these things matter. Who you are cast with determines how far your delivery will go. You don’t want to work with someone that drags you down. I don’t want to be in a movie that people watch and people think the other person is sustaining me, or I am sustaining the other person. We need to all be on the same tempo, that is what makes a great movie.
This movie is likely to get some backlash, whether politically or otherwise. How prepared are you to handle the backlash that may come?
I don’t even know. There will be a lot of misconceptions, especially with everything happening now. May God see me through.
A lot of things that entertainers do in terms of supporting politicians can be easily misconstrued. But as an actor, you still have to do your job. How do you draw a balance between doing your job but also keeping faith with your fans wh believe that you won’t abuse the trust they have in you?
For this project, ‘Last Man Standing’, that is where I stand. This is not political and it is not politics. This is me, Lateef Adedimeji being contacted to come and deliver as an actor. It is a role, and that is the role I have come to play. It is just another script I have come to deliver on. It doesn’t have anything to do with me supporting anyone. That is what my fans should also see and listen to.
What kind of roles would you refuse in a script, especially now that you are married?
I would play any role, but I would not play a role that doesn’t add value to whoever is watching me. You may be given a script and after seeing what you will be expected to do, you can call the director and offer ideas to tweak the delivery. It doesn’t mean you are rejecting the role, it is just a request to reduce some things. For example, I cannot go nude in a movie. That does not mean I can’t play a role, it is simply me refusing to do a particular scene in the entire movie.
Can you consent to a body double though?
Yes, someone else can do it. That doesn’t bother me.
You are married to an actress. Are there times you critique each other?
Oh, my wife is my ‘hype person’. I critique myself a lot, and when I do, she is the one who encourages me. When it’s the other way, she also doesn’t mince words.
A lot of actors give back by creating academies to train the next generation of talents. What’s your own method of doing that?
I always wonder if academies are the way to go, and that’s why |I have not done that so far. First, to raise other people, you must measure how far you have raised yourself, and how sure you are that it is time for you to raise others. When people ask me if I have a school or training academy, I tell them not yet because I don’t even have the capacity yet to start raising other people. Until I have then I won’t. But I am starting soon, by the middle of this year I should be launching an academy. But it is just going to be 10 per year so that I can push them to a reasonable level and see that within a year they appear in all my productions. 10 per year is enough. If I have 50 and I release them at the same time every year, how do I even monitor them?
I also have an NGO, Great Minds Initiative. I have about 80 youths from different universities, and we do outreaches and gather at the youth centre on a monthly basis to discuss issues that they go through. We have them all, rape victims, abuse, domestic violence, we just get them to talk and see how we can raise each other. We also have those in school that we try to pay their fees.
When did it start, and how many youths have you impacted so far?
I have been running it for the past four years, and we have touched about 20 so far. Some are already graduates.
This year, how many are you planning to add to that number?
At least five, depending on what they want to do. Some want to learn a trade, while others want to school. Whatever it is, we simply try to make it happen.
Your message to your colleagues?
No matter how little we get, we must try to give back to the society that made us because it is because society loves what we do that we are who we are. We are also a part of the people that watch us. When something is black and we say it is white, they follow us. Not because they don’t know, but because of the love they have for us, they go along with it. So we must strive to put a lot of the people that follow us on the right track and not just use the fame to lead people astray.
and then