Damilola Ogunsi has recalled how a Nigerian movie director once told him he cannot be an actor because he is albino.
Ogunsi, 44, who starred in ‘Gangs of Lagos’, spoke about his foray into the movie industry in a recent interview with Hip TV.
The actor said he left the banking sector six years ago “as a mid-level management executive” to focus on acting.
The film star also revealed some of his major challenges in the movie industry — including being stereotyped due to his skin colour.
“When I was coming into Nollywood, I will be very honest with you. I had a major director who looked at me and said ‘Why do you wanna be an actor? How many albinos have you found as actors’? He said it is not a place for you to be. And I have been doing theatre since primary school, in secondary school, at the Polytechnic, Ibadan, University of Lagos, and everywhere,” he said.
“I have always been passionate about this. So, I personally did not see my beautiful skin as what is supposed to stop me from achieving my dream.
“My dreams are beyond my skin. So, I decided I was going to for it. I was working in the bank. And I resigned from the bank as a mid-level management executive and jumped right into the film industry. Straight up. It has been six glorious years post-banking. I did six films before I left the bank. Has it been easy? No.
“What I have tried to do consistently is to step out of the stereotype. I am not trying to be known as the albino actor. I am an actor who is an albino. It is a different thing. I live my life as a normal guy on a daily.
“But what I also realised because I went to film school. I was trained as an actor as a New York filmmaker.
“One of the things they made us understand is that there is no particular guarantee that as an actor you will make it. It is a risk. No matter how talented you are.”
Ogunsi is popularly known by his stage name ‘Gold Fish’. He started acting as a teenager.
Since taking a role in ‘The Tribunal’, a movie by Kunle Afolayan, in 2017, Ogunsi has continued to enjoy fame in showbiz.
He has also been featured in popular movies including ‘Mokalik’ and ‘Finding Hubby’.
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