Deyemi Okanlawon: Producer once rejected me because I didn’t have enough IG followers

Deyemi Okanlawon has opened up on the challenges he faced as an actor during his early days in the industry.

Speaking with the Echoo Room, the 45-year-old said when he ventured into Nollywood, his priority was more on the craft than the business aspect of acting

The movie star also recalled how a producer turned him down because his social media presence was not strong enough.

“Honestly, I focused more on the craft than the business aspect of the craft, especially the brand-building part of acting. It occurred to me that the more noise you had, the more it seemed you would get ahead,” he said.

“I remember one producer wanted me on a project and when I said this is what I want as a fee, they were like but you don’t have that many Instagram followers. I would tell myself I’m the guy who comes to kill himself on set.

“Why am I being judged by the number of Instagram followers I have? I said to myself, There is no point fighting it. There is always going to be a new set of people who focus more on the brand than they are on the craft. So I said, let me start some brand-building.”

Deyemi said his persistence paid off when he was called to work with top producers like Funke Akindele, Kunle Afolayan, Kemi Adetiba, and Mo Abudu.

“… the first call came from Funke Akindele, the next was Kemi Adetiba, then Mo Abudu, Niyi Akimoloyan and Kunle Afolayan,” he said.

“In my mind, I was thinking but I’m done, then I thought I need to feed my family so I’m going to do this job. At the end of 2020, Omo Ghetto the Saga hit the cinemas and became the highest-grossing movie and I was the lead actor. I also became the highest-grossing actor at the time too.”