Dayo Amusa is an actress. In this interview with DOYIN ADEOYE, she
talks about her career, controversies and style, among other things.
How did your foray into acting really begin?
I
started acting in 2002 when I joined the Wemimo Olu Paul Productions in
Ibadan. He (Wemimo) was one of the biggest producers back then and I
registered with him. But it wasn’t easy shuttling between Lagos and
Ibadan, so I had to move back to Lagos, where I started going for
auditions and all, before I became who I am today.
What was your first major role?
The
first major role I played was in my first movie, Ajegbodo, in 2006.
Before then, I had only featured in scenes and the closest I had got to a
major lead role was in Funke Akindele’s production, Agbe fo and Iyabo
Ojo’s movie, Omidan.
What inspires your movies?
My environment does. Also, my personal experience is a major inspiration for the stories that I pen down.
So far, which role has been the most challenging for you?
It’s
the role I took in my movie, Unforgiveable. This is because I play more
of violent roles, so dropping that for the role I played in
Unforgiveable posed a little challenge. But because I had the zeal and
believed I could do it, it wasn’t as difficult as I thought and people
around me were really amazed at my interpretation of the role.
Despite not being out yet, the movie, Unforgiveable, is making waves already in the industry. How did you put it all together?
The
issue of domestic violence is so rampant in the society, with stories
about it coming up every now and then. That was what inspired the story
line. It is a problem in the society, so that gave the story line an
edge compared to others that I had written before. Also, the choice of
cast was another factor that gave Unforgivable the edge as well, coupled
with the fact that I put more into it in terms of technicalities,
awareness and sort.
Just like your previous production,
Dewunmi Iberu, you featured English-speaking actors in Unforgiveable.
Does that mean you believe more in them?
The Yoruba sector
of Nollywood is very fantastic and we have what it takes to compete with
any other sector. Talking about good stories, actors and directors, we
are very good at it and I believe we are all entertainers. But if I have
a script and I believe it is a Hausa man that can portray the character
well enough, then I’d go for him.
The major reason I decided to use that cast for Unforgiveable was
because I needed something to draw people’s attention to the movie
because of the message I wanted to pass across, and because I wanted a
different thing from what I had produced in the past.
