I am not a stereotyped actor-Wale Akorede (Okunnu)

ALLI, Mutiat

…why people find it difficult to take me serious- Wale Akorede (Okunnu)

Comic Yoruba actor, Wale Akorede better as Okunnu who is sure of the popular faces on home videos and as such often time regarded to as one of the busiest in the Yoruba movie industry. Despite his age, Okunnu still wax stronger jumping from set to set. Wale who used to be a business man when he relocated to Saudi Arabia is a proud indigene of Oyo state. He spoke with MUTIAT ALLI about his career, relationship amongst others

You are over 50years and yet you known to be fully active on any movie project; where do you draw the strength from?

All the strength belongs to almighty God, I don’t usually eat much but I have lots of multivitamins that gets me going. The funniest thing is that I don’t do any form of exercise; I don’t have any stress that can weigh me down because whenever I am on set, I ensure that I imbibe a happy mood strategy and that has really worked for me overtime. Most time is not about the age, how you carry yourself really matter too.

You are known with funny roles; don’t you sometimes feel stereotyped?

Let me correct the impression that I am a stereotyped actor; there is no role I cannot play in real sense but I have come to realize that people appreciate me more when I play funny roles than other role. Just like the medical field with different department, the same is applicable to actors as some of us are good in interpreting a particular role better than the other.

Do you have a dream role you look forward to playing?

Well not really because there is precisely no role that I have not played in a movie; I played the role of a clergy, lawyer, village man and all that before; but as an actor I look forward to every role I want to play but am still patiently waiting for a script that will challenge me more.

Don’t you sometimes feel bad when people don’t take you serious when in actual sense you are?

Honestly in terms of movie, even when I am playing a serious role, the audience still finds it funny because that is what has been registered in their consciousness about me but in real life even when I am dead serious about a particular issue, people don’t take me serious at time because I have been tagged a comedian and at the end, I just flow with them.

What is that craziest thing a fan has done to you?

A lot of crazy things, sometime whenever I pull down my car glass and they see, one has actually slapped me before all in the name of greeting me and some while greeting you will curse you along ‘ Were Oni film Yi lon lo yi’ (Is this mad actor that is going ) but In real sense am I mad? I just feel all these crazy things our fan do to us is to further show that our various works are been appreciated.

Have you ever acted in any English movie before?

Yes I have featured in countless English movies; even my Igbo people have invited me so many times and I have been there to contribute my quota too. Like I said earlier, I an actor, so I should be able to fit into any movie irrespective of the language.

So what was growing up like for you?

Growing up days for me was a little bit terrible for me because when I was young, I was very stubborn and hard hearted because I have passion for acting and my parents were never in support of it but I started acting partially immediately after the death of my father in 1982, I became more stubborn and my mother had no choice than to give to what I love doing.

Like some of your other colleagues, did you also run away from the house?

Yes I did several time and whenever I am back home, my mother will beat me mercilessly and so when I realize that the only thing she does was to beat me; I will run out of the house for days and when I return I am already prepare for beating because it was more or less like a routine for me.

So at what point did your mother give her support?

The moment she started seeing me on screen then she realized that I was actually born to do this and she commended my effort that if she had known that I will be this good at this; she would have supported me long ago.

With your religion, one will expect that you have several wives, why did you decide to stick with one?

Well that is my own policy, I may be with one wife today and tomorrow you hear am with ten wives; it’s a matter of choice.