Acting in Nigeria seems to finally have come of age with a new crop of exciting acts coming into the local and global film industry and taking up where the first generation Nigerian stars left off.
Prominent amongst these new faces is the fast-rising actor, Deyemi Okanlawon who has in the past few years tantalised the screens with his refreshing and versatile acting skills.
In the recently released short film music video of ‘Soldier’ by Falz The Bahd Guy, directed by Clarence Peters and featuring Simi, Deyemi effortlessly takes on a rebel leader character similar to that of Idris Elba in Netflix’s ‘Beast Of No Nation’ and was, in those few minutes, able to take viewers from a sense of fear to laughter with the line “Sergeant, if you want the girl come and collect her” borrowed from the Headies 2016 fracas between Mavin boss Don Jazzy and Olamide, “Egbon Olamide, if you want the car come and collect it.”
Fondly called ‘Deyemi The Actor’ by his colleagues and fans, he started out by featuring in some of the best short films and web series produced in Nigeria till date, including ‘Gidi Up’, ‘Blink’, ‘In-Iredu’, ‘Knock Knock’ and ‘Common Man’, as well as music videos with Waje (No Be You) and Aramide (Feeling this Feeling) and has since starred in several award-winning feature-length movies such as ‘If Tomorrow Never Comes’, ‘Falling’ and ‘Beyond Blood’ as well as the CNN and BBC reviewed international TV series, ‘An African City’.
