"My passion for acting started when I kept seeing my dad on television" - Femi Adebayo

Actor Femi, son of veteran Nollywood actor, Adebayo Salami (aka Oga Bello), talks about his father’s acting career in a recent chat with Punch NG

Find excerpts from the interview below

Can you please introduce yourself?

I am Femi Adebayo born into the family of Adebayo Salami popularly called Oga Bello. I studied Law at the University of llorin and earned a Master’s degree in Law at the University of Ibadan. I hail from Ilorin in Kwara State. I am married and have children. I am best described as an actor and a lawyer.

Didn’t your father encourage you to study Acting instead of Law since you seem to enjoy the former?

I have always wanted to be a lawyer. My father always told us when we were young that he would support us on any career choices we made. Since I decided I was going to study Law, he was very supportive. He gave me all the needed support and encouragement. My passion for acting started when I kept seeing him on television while I was young. At a point, I felt like acting too. When he noticed my interest in acting, he did not discourage me. Rather, he encouraged my interest in the two careers. My father did not force any career on any of his children. He left us to study the courses we showed interest in and have capacity for. I must also say that he influenced me indirectly as an actor because if I had not enjoyed his acting style while I was growing up, there was no way I could have showed interest in acting.

How do you feel each time you feature in a movie with him?

The father-son relationship ends the moment we are on set. We instantly become professional colleagues and have to creatively interpret our roles. That notwithstanding, I always have the confidence that whenever I am on location with him, the movie being produced at that time cannot be less qualitative. This is because of his experience as an actor and the fact that I learn from him. Whenever we are on set, it is a different thing because acting is make-believe and we have to make the audience have a feel of reality. It is no more a father-son relationship but purely on professional basis. We have featured together in many movies. I recall that I played the role of a thief who robbed him in one of the films we acted in together. We featured together in movies such as Alade Owala, Jelili and Sonto Alapata among many others.

Were you opportune to receive tutelage under Ojo Ladipo (Baba Mero) who was your father’s boss and mentor?

I was not opportune to be trained by him. I was extremely young when he died.