Bimbo Akintola
Since 1997 when she sauntered into Nollywood and dazzled movie buffs with her A-list performances in Owoblow and Out Of Bounds, Bimbo Akintola has not rested on her oars. She is still sparkling and sizzling. With over forty hit movies to her credit and several awards to show that she is a force to reckon with in the industry, the sultry actress from Ibadan, Oyo State, is still waxing stronger and widening her fans base.
“As a child, I have always dreamt of going into acting. I love acting with a passion and that was why I went to study Theatre Arts at the University of Ibadan”, she gushed. “Though, I started on TV with Lola Fani Kayode’s Family Ties, before Niyi Wuraola helped me in getting my first movie role in Owoblow, added the ex-controversy-courting thespian.
Continuing, the second child of an ex-Customs-officer dad, who spoke with me on the set of her latest movie, Desperate Billionaires, maintains that she is still single and not bothered about marriage. In her words: I’m into a relationship but do not know if it is going to lead to marriage. I’ve been in love once all my life. There is no pressure on me to get married.”
When prodded further to open up for the first time ever on her celebrated but crashed romance with Felasopher, Dede Mabiaku, the quintessential actress argued that the affair did not crash. “We just decided to end it and be good friends. We agreed on this, because we discovered we are better off as good friends. We are still best of pals. There was nothing like heartbreaks or crashed affair.”
The star of The Mourning After, also bared her mind on other sundry issues, especially those affecting Nollywood.
Enjoy the interaction!
Which was your first movie as an actress?
Owoblow and that was around 96/97. Then followed by Out of Bounds. Niyi Wuraola brought me then. Though as a theatre undergraduate at U.I., I was doing stage plays. I also had a children theatre even before I entered school. All my kids in that theatre school are now grown up. I met Niyi when I got a role in Lola Fani Kayode’s TV series that was Family Ties. Niyi later sent me a note for audition when they were planning to shoot Owoblow and I came and was auditioned by Tade Ogidan.
Then that you were coming up, what were the major challenges and difficulties that you encountered?
I did not see it as difficulties then, though as an undergraduate, I saw myself doing extra job on the side. And deep down, it was great fun for me to act.
Were you at any point in time harassed sexually by producers/directors then that you were still climbing?
No way! Not even once. Nobody ever did that to me. I don’t know about other people but it has never happened to me.
But did your parent endorse your going into acting?
Yeah! But my dad wasn’t too sure at that point in time. He was particular about my future and the fact that I needed a profession that will give me constant money. He later got over it and gave me his support. But my mum stood by me from day one.
The Bimbo of past was described as zany and controversial. Could you please describe the new Bimbo for us?
(Laughs) I have not changed, I’m still the same, and you people were the ones that gave me titles. I’m normal, but you people said I’m zany and controversial. I didn’t say that, you people passed that judgment on me. I’m an easy person. I believe in what I do and have principles that I live by. It might not tally with yours, but it does work for me. No lies, don’t cheat and don’t kill. Then have fun because life is short. Believe in yourself and do the things that you want to do. Do not say because of what people are saying, you won’t do the things you believe in. then, you would not have lived a full life. I believe in living a full life.
How old is Bimbo Akintola?
I’m so, sorry, it is none of your business. I was born on May 5, period.
Tell us more about yourself and family
My parents are still alive and living together. I’ve got five siblings. I’m number three, just two boys and four girls. We have Temitayo, Olawale, myself, Oluwaseun, Akinbola and Adetola. Dad was an ex Customs officer. I grew up in the Opebi, area of Ikeja here in Lagos. We are from Ibadan in Oyo State. And my growing up was fun. We used to do all kinds of stuffs with my mum in the house, like singing, dancing. As a businesswoman she had time for us.
We all know you are still single, but what does marriage mean to you?
(Thinks) It means total commitment.
Any plans of settling down soon?
When God says yeah!
But why are you still single, does it not weigh you down sometimes?
I believe that marriage is an extremely serious venture. You go into the house of God and make commitment with your loved ones watching. If I don’t meet anybody that I think I can spend the rest of my life with, I can’t make that commitment. And being single does not weigh me down.
So, in essence you are not into any affair right now?
I’m talking about commitment and marriage and not relationship. Yes, I’m into a relationship.
Are you going to marry the lucky guy?
I don’t know and I’m not ready to say more on it. No way!
Are your parents pressurizing you to get married?
No! They don’t do that.
As a star actress, what is your assessment of Nollywood?
Nollywood is just beginning. It is just starting. It is the morning after for Nollywood. I see us going places. There are different avenues opening up right now for us. I believe we will continue to expand.
Where do you draw your acting strength?
From God and also the inspiration from the inside of me. Everyday things and people around all inspire me.
Do you have role models in Nollywood?
Yes, somebody like Joke Silva and Al Pacino. I’ve been opportune to act with Joke but I’m looking forward to doing it with Al Pacino someday.
As a pretty, popular and single actress, how do you cope with Nigerian men?
The truth is that some of them act like pest sometimes. And some of them do take this fan thing a bit too far. I like not being rude to my fans, but some of them like driving you crazy. One recently trailed me for a whole day and it was not funny. He kept stalking me. And it was a bit scary. And I keep them off by telling them we can’t meet one on one.
But are Nigeria men worth dying for?
In the first place, why would you die for anybody?
But like how many Nigerian men have you dated?
None of your business. I don’t know!
What trips you in a Nigerian guy?
Niceness, people always think I’m joking whenever I say it. Nice guys trip me a lot.
And what is the biggest thing being a top actress has helped you to achieve in life today?
It has helped me to actualize my dreams of being an actress. That’s it. It was my biggest wish right from my days as a kid to be an actress.
Do you believe in love?
Of course, I believe in love. It exists. I don’t know about love at first sight. But I know there is an instant attraction for somebody. You need to know a bit more about the person to be able to fall in love.
How many times have you been in love all your life?
Just once. We split peacefully after dating. We are still best pals. We dated for two years.
Was it Dede Mabiaku?
It’s none of your business. We agreed no questions from that area.
In your next world, do you still want to come back as Bimbo Akintola?
Yes, please! I like life and myself a lot.
Do you concur with those who are saying that we churn out substandard movies in Nollywood?
Come on! When Hollywood and Bollywood started what kind of movies were they churching out? I think we are doing well. Agreed there is still much room for improvements. But we are doing great and I’m happy to be part of this industry. No other African country can match us in terms of home videos. We should be proud of talents and ourselves. Agreed some of them are terrible, but how do you learn if you don’t try. You get better when you keep trying.
Can you act nude or deep romantic scenes in Nollywood movies?
I don’t think I can do that. Our culture does not permit that.
Can you also marry an actor?
Yeah! I can marry anybody as long as we have the same principles and see things the same way.
What has been your lowest fee as an actress?
That was N50, 000 in Owoblow. It was really big then.
As a top actress, how do you cope with stardom?
You know what; a lot of people don’t recognize me in public. They only do that when I might have passed them. It is so because I look different in real life most of the time.
In what ways do you think up-and-coming actresses who want to be like you can be empowered?
First, they need talent and must be truthful to themselves. Those without talents should quit. Again, they need to be professionals by going to schools. Whatever talent you have is raw, but it is refined when you go to school. School is not for jokes. The lecturers are there for a reason. Go and receive the knowledge they will impact on you. No magic about getting to the top, that is it. Just be the best you can.
Financially, has acting seen rewarding to you?
Yes! It has been.
But why did your affair with Dede Mabiaku crash?
Because, we realized we are better off as pals and not lovers.
Was the affair tilting towards marriage before it crashed?
All these questions, do they matter? No comment.
Do you sometimes regret the fact that the once blissful affair crashed?
It did not crash and nobody cried, or regretted. We are still best of pals. We sat down and decided we are better off as pals.
Okay, tell us more about your new Romeo?
He is a man full stop. (General Laughter) Just help me tell my fans I love them and that they should continue to have fun
You were superb in the recently released movie, Desperate Billionaires. What kept you going in the movie?
Actually, I fell in love with the script because it had something to do with people desperately falling in love with money and the length they can go to have money. Imagine, I was so foolishly in love in the movie to the extent that I don’t know the man I was going out with was a cultist. But in real life, I can’t fall in love foolishly.
What were the major challenges you encountered on set?
Hmmh! I always say to people that challenge to me means being in character and getting into character and being able to project the right image. A believable image is always the challenge of any movie. So, I had that challenge and was able to face it on set.
But how were you able to cope with the gory scenes and scary makes-ups that you wore in most scenes of the movie?
Gawd! The last scene, I was in that horrible make-up for like three, four hours with thick starch all over my body. It was not funny and I refused to look at the pictures so that I won’t throw up. It was really awful.
Were you well paid for all the stress you went through in the movie?
Yes, he did. But the truth is that I won’t tell you the exact amount.
Were there ego clash between you and any of your star colleagues on set?
No! There was nothing like that on set. Rita Dominic, K.O.K., Ini Edo, others and I bonded well on set. It was a happy family and we had fun on set. It was wonderful. And it was also my first movie with A.2.Z Production, and they gave me a star treatment. I was very impressed with them.
Your role in the movie, does it have some similarities with your real life person?
No! Come on! Acting is acting; you pick up a character and get into it. A lot of people usually think that if you play a role very well, it means you are like that. It is not true. It is just acting and being able to take on another character.
Prior to this movie, you have been so quiet in Nollywood. Was it intentional or scarcity of movie roles?
Not really quiet. I’ve been around but refused to take part in every job that comes my way. And because I hardly go out these days you media guys are speculating that I’ve gone under. Before, Bimbo was everywhere and that kept making headlines, but now you hardly find me outside. It’s just me, I live my life the way I want it.
Currently, what are you doing?
I’m working on so many things. I’m still promoting Jimi Odumosu’s film on widows, The Mourning After. We were in Cameroon to promote it some couple of months ago at a festival. I will go on set to shoot another movie soon.
Is it true that you were paid over N2million to feature in Jimi Odumosu’s, The Mourning After?
I won’t deny or accept the amount you are talking about. But I was extremely well paid. We shot for five months, so you can imagine what I went through on locations.
Aside acting, what else do you do?
What else do I do? I love reading and currently working on producing a movie, but not going into it fully. My first love is acting. I’m also planning a talk show; it will be out by first quarter of next year. It will cut across and talk on the issues Nigerians doesn’t like discussing. Those entire things that we would like to push under the carpet, like diseases, HIV, child abuse and so many others.
What are the things you have passion for?
Singing, dancing and reading. But I have phobia for creepy and crawling things.
Some of your colleagues were banned last year. What are your views on the raging issue?
Well, I’m happy that by September it will be over because most of the artistes banned have just acting as their main occupation. These people also have a passion for acting. It is a great problem when you can’t fulfill your passion. It is not about supporting or not supporting the ban, the reasons for the ban are not things that I know. My hope is that it will soon be over.
How would you have reacted if your name were on the list?
My reaction? Well, it would have been devastating in a way. Sincerely acting is what I love and I have a passion for it because I love it. If anybody tells me to quit for a while, I will be a bit upset about it.
First published, July 2005.
