Nollywood star, Omowunmi Dada is warm, grounded, and very aware of what she brings, having had the power of the craft that got her on stage and on screen right from her days in school. And there’s been no turning back since then, despite challenges that dotted her paths to stardom. The multiple award-winning actress opens up about her craft, her journey, success, as much as she believes people are drawn more to her work than her fashion. Excerpts
As an actor, voice-over artist, presenter, and model, how did these come about? Which came first really?
Presenting came first professionally. The very first time I was in front of a camera was actually as a presenter. But as an actor, the first time I acted was in primary school. My dad had told me the story of ‘Everyman’. And then for our valedictory service, send forth or whatever it is called, I might just call some of my friends and tell them the story, and I had kind of reenacted it. But I have always liked the arts because I was also in an Igbo cultural troupe. I’m a Yoruba girl, what am I doing in Igbo troupe? I never knew what the song meant, but I just loved to dance. So, that’s my first time acting. But it was very, very elementary. In secondary school, I was in a Yoruba cultural troupe, and I was the first junior student to dance the ‘bata’ dance. . . I joined in JSS1 and as at JSS2 I started to dance bata you know. When I got to SSS then I joined the Press Club as well. As at SS2 I was also in the Music Group. But then I got into university and something happened. I had wanted to study Law. My first trial at JAMB and all of that, for some weird reasons my name didn’t come out. I wrote JAMB again, I picked Creative Arts, Unilag; first choice and second choice, and my name was on merit list by the time the list came out and there’s been no turning back since then. And luckily for me, I have lecturers like when we do our projects they will invite professionals from outside school. So, my very first play in Unilag then was ‘Moremi’, and I played Ariyoyo who was Moremi’s best friend. And from there, the professionals picked me up and I started to do stage plays outside the school. So as at my Year 2, I had started doing stage plays outside the school. . . Afterwards, I started auditioning for TV series, I started auditioning for films and it just got better from there.
At what point would you say marked your Nollywood journey?
I can’t say when exactly you know. From school, I had been doing series. In fact, I was in school when I was doing Tinsel. I was on Shadows. My first film was the film called ‘Oya’. It had William Benson as Sango; it had Tunji Sotimirin as Ogun. It was shot in Ogun State. I played one of Oya’s maidens. That was my very first time on a proper film set. But right from when I was in school, I have been auditioning doing both stage and screen. When I went for my NYSC, I stopped acting for a bit. And then at some point I came back fully, professionally with the ‘Gods Are Still Not to Blame’ and that was between 2013/2014. It featured Gabriel Afolayan, Carol king, Iretiola Doyle.
Looking at how you started going for every audition and where you are now, the journey appears smooth kind of, do you think otherwise?
I beg to differ. It wasn’t smooth at all! It was very stressful. It’s easier now you have social media as a tool to project your career even to the eyes of people who don’t know you. Now you can do skit, now you can do monologue. We really didn’t have that opportunity. So you have to be at every audition for anyone to notice you. I got a lot of ‘no’ for different reasons, I’m not going to lie. But I knew that this was what I was going to do for as much as I was destined for this. There were times when I would want to give up and I want to dust my ‘Pali’ (credentials), and just go to do one 9-5, I mean I was the best graduating student in my class, I was gunning for a first class. Accenture wanted me. But you know when you are very passionate about what you are doing and very convinced that this’ what you were created to do regardless of the challenges, you look at the future at hand. But I think those challenges are the things that have made me stronger day by day you know. It still doesn’t mean that it doesn’t come with challenges now that things are easier, but I would say that I have been blessed and things are definitely not as hard. But as much as it has been a challenging journey, I just try to give my very best every time I’m on a project because you are as good as your last job. You might just have that one scene and people will remember you for that one scene. Because there are no small roles, but there are only small actors.
Just as much as you are commended for your roles in movies it’s also quite interesting that you get commended for your style, fashion…
(Laughs)… thank you. I mean its show business; it’s the business of show. So you show out or you stay at home.
What really inspires your sense of fashion?
Okay so, I really like classy pieces. I like things that are classy. And whatever it is that I wear, I like to feel myself in it. Maybe because I grew up as a tomboy but who is very much in touch with her feminine side, And I was the only girl right, in my family – a family of three boys, I’m the only girl and the last, my mum put all her fashion ingenuity in me. Whatever it is that I wear, as much as I like been comfortable, I like to feel classy, sexy and yes, that’s what it is. So it’s possible that a few people are drawn to my sense of fashion. But really I think that doesn’t define me.
The industry is widely acclaimed internationally, same for a good number of its actors. Do you see your career attaining such feat 5 years from now?
Oh definitely… for me Nollywood is not the destination, the destination is the world. The destination is every corner of the world that film is being appreciated. So I don’t think God has given me this gift just to limit me where I was born. So, I always think that I’m an international actor of African descent. My origin is Africa, but that’s not the destination. So, this is why I love that we are having international platforms putting us on the world pedestal where even Portuguese are watching our stories. People who do not speak English are watching our stories and are seeing our crafts and African stories you know. So it starts with that.
Leave a comment