Actor and content creator, Kunle Afod, is a popular face among fans of Nollywood movies. He is also a promoter of the Yoruba culture through his ‘Proverbs Challenge,’ which he uses to encourage Yoruba sons and daughters to freshen their knowledge about their proverbs. Here, Afod speaks on his acting career, the state of Nollywood and his efforts at supporting industry veterans. Excerpts:
How long have you been acting?
I have been acting right from my young age, that was in 1996, when I first appeared on a television problem. Anybody who is a church person is either a singer, dancer or actor, so I followed the acting side. While as a kid, I played the lead role in any performance we had in church, so from there, I gathered my friends around 1987, and we came up with a group called (DOT) Dream of Tomorrow; then, we used to task ourselves; we came up with competitions on who could come up with the best script and best acting. After that, I trained under Oga Bello, Baba Adebayo Salami; then, it was Awada Kerikeri Organisation, I was there for about seven years, where I stayed in the same room with Femi Adebayo.
But when did your breakthrough in the industry come?
Well, my first major break was immediately I came into the industry, because the elders noticed me, as I was up and doing and the following week after I joined, I became a continuity man; then I became the youngest director in the Yoruba movie industry. So I will say two major movies brought about my breakthrough. The first was ‘Owo Blow’ and the second was ‘Solo Makinde.’
How many movies have you produced?
I have lost count of the number of movies I have produced. I have been producing since 1995, and I produce two movies yearly, so I stopped six years ago and started producing one yearly from then.
As a Nollywood insider, how would you rate the Nollywood of 10 years ago and what we have now?
I want to say that in terms of the technical aspect, it is better now, but in terms of storytelling and discipline, it is not better. Now, when we look at the area of finance, especially on stability for actors and the technical crew, it is also better. With Netflix and cinema culture in the industry now, we have broken some barriers. In the past, we experienced difficulties shooting in some places, like a general hospital, police station, airport and so on, but the situation has changes. So I will say generally, Nollywood is now better than it was 10 years ago.
You also have a project where you visit veterans in the industry and you support them through donations from their fans all over the world, how did you come about the idea?
I am not the only one doing this; we have been doing this for a long time, I know of some veterans who are also into what I am doing. Well, it all started after my 50th birthday, when I received some comments that we were not taking care of our veterans and that we the younger ones only just love to party. Then, I took it upon myself to do something about it. So when I started, people then just in assisting our veterans, and I am so grateful for their support.
How do you decide who to visit?
I worked with them for so many years, so when I noticed it’s been longed I saw anyone, I would just decide to go and see him/her. So, in such situations, I meet some who are battling ailments, while some are still strong and agile. So depending on the condition we meet them, we render support. Even those who are still agile, we call them to come back on set for work.
You also have a studio now, when did you launch it?
I launched my studio in June 2024. I love two major things in showbiz; I love the talk shows and the TV series, so I decided to have mine to do something like that. The studio is for personal use; in fact, it is designed for a particular programme. You know, I started ‘The Proverbs Challenge,’ and when I noticed that a lot of people love the show, I decided to take it to the next level and add other segments.
As someone who has seen it all in Nollywood, what advice do you have for the younger artists?
There is a special advice I normally give to people and that is, ‘stay out of drugs and be clean.’ Some people think taking drugs is going to enhance whatever skill they have; some can’t sing or act without smoking one thing or the other, but this will just destroy their future.
