I think it must have been that moment when I saw Sidney Poitier in the scene with his father in ‘Guess who’s coming to dinner’ that made me aware of acting. I must have been around 9 or 10 at the time; it hit me that it was real yet it was make believe, in that moment I got it. I knew this was what acting was all about and from that time I always looked for my Sidney Poitier moment in every film and actor.
There are certain political and racial tones in the film that I now disagree with but at that age I just saw a heated scene well acted out. That was when I started imitating actors, I would watch a film and know all the lines in my favorite movies.
Did you study acting
I am not quite sure when I knew I wanted to be an actor, but I remember two things from my past the first day I saw ‘Guess Who’s Coming to Diner’ and when I read my first James Baldwin I was about 12 or 13 at the time and I knew my calling was a creative one. I never studied acting formally I studied Psychology, but I did so because I wanted an option in case I didn’t make it in the arts. I felt psychology would make me a better writer and actor and if the creative path didn’t work out I could become a shrink. We did a course in university called consumer psychology and I realized advertising could be my safe way in. I became a copywriter in an ad agency. I used it to horn my writing skills and film production knowledge shooting commercials. I was a very prolific Voice Over artist and I used that to horn my acting skills. All the time studying styles and performances by some of my favorite actors, every film I watch is a creative workshop for me.
Fabian Adeoye Lojede and Yazmin Warsame
What acting technique do you use
It really depends on the role, unfortunately in Africa we are not given the luxury of time like actors in West. I am able to switch in and out of character even while on set. But I think my technique is closer to Stanislavski I usually rely on personal experiences, beliefs or non-beliefs to get me there. I am currently in the United States of America prepping for my next film called The Coma, the lead actor is a guy that’s been in the states for over 19 years without coming back home to Nigeria. So I decided to go and spend time in the states to get into the frame of mind of a guy distancing himself from his roots. Which is so not me, I love my roots.
What wrong impressions do actors hold about acting
That they don’t need to research their characters or watch similar character roles. Studying your role in the particular movie is just one part of it, I normally like to watch movies where other actors have given mind blowing performances in similar roles. If I’m doing a gangster role I want to watch a lot of gangster movies.
I also like to play my scenes in my head before I act them out, I play my movements and body posture, if it looks and feels like shit in my head, I don’t play it that way. Unless the director insists I think acting is practice and commitment.
Do you take courses to improve your craft
I workshop with my directors every role I have played.
What acting books do you read
I actually watch a lot of acting master classes from my favourite actors online.
How do you keep fit as an actor
I watch a lot of movies and I exercise for my breathing
Who agrees with this> ? pic.twitter.com/OHjSBgqcxo
— Fabian Adeoye Lojede (@fabloj) April 7, 2015
When you’re offered a role, what do you do next
If I don’t get hooked by the first act , normally I don’t finish the script and just decline the role. If I do then I want to know more about the director and the DOP. I will rather do one film in 10 years that I am proud of then ten films in one year that I can’t stand to watch. Theme and subject matter mean a lot to me.
Once I have accepted the role, I read the whole script a few times and then mark my scenes and read that as many times as it takes to get comfortable with how I want to play the role.
I then live and sleep that role, constantly playing and replaying my scenes in my head, and jotting down notes of things I might do differently from the script for the director or actors I am playing against
How do you take a character in a script to a honest, believable and breathing person
I look for that one emotional trait or motive that I think should be the roles defining character flaw or strength and use that to inform everything, from postures to gestures and speaking tone.
How do you stay fresh on set
I read the sites again. Or I simply play the next scene even if it just to myself and I have to act out the other characters scenes myself.
Describe a memorable character you played
Femi in Man On Ground, when my character was killed and I was thrown in the boot of the car, I had to scream knowing that they were about to set fire to the car. It was very emotional because in that moment in the car it some how became the character and myself. I saw myself looking a feeling for the character and so many other innocent lives taken for no just reason. I felt I could feel the fear that Ernesto the guy that the film was dedicated to must have felt knowing he was about to be killed simply for being a foreigner in another land. For some strange reason the picture of Patrice Lumumba’s face with hands bound behind him by a solider stuck in my mind. The look on his face that read to me like.. “ They are really going to kill me for this? Hunts me every time I remember that scene. As I feel this can only go through the mind of anybody faced with his end at the hands of people based on a senseless ideology or prejudice
Explain one creative choice you took on set
Worked with a lot of non-professional actors on Jacob’s cross, there was this one scene where this guy just wasn’t giving the reaction the director wanted. After a couple of takes we decided reality would be the best form of acting for him. So when he wasn’t expecting it I slapped him for real. The camera was set on a Close up on his face and we got it in one slap. (Damn lucky he didn’t slap me back)
What do you want most from a director
Informed and creative direction.
What actors do you long to work with
I long to work with certain directors more then I do actors. But if I had to choose today, it would be Sidney Poitier
Why
It’s was his talent that awoke the actor in me, and I truly think he is one of the greatest.
What advice would you give to actors
Practice, practice, and practice your craft.
Briefly write about your career
I worked for years as a voice over artist and writer absorbing all that I thought I would need to plunge into the film industry. I wrote and appeared in a number of TV commercials, before I decided the time was right about 10 years ago. Jacob’s cross was my first major on screen appearance and it went on for about 6 years.
A: Jacob’s cross – Bola Abayomi
B: Man on Ground – Femi
C: October 1 – Omolodun
D: Heaven Hell – Edward
