Nigerian actor Shola ‘Lagata’ Akintunde has revealed that playing criminal roles in Yoruba films limited his career opportunities and chances of securing brand endorsements.

The actor shared this during an interview on Oyinmomo. He said his frequent portrayal of criminals affected how brands and people viewed him.

Akintunde explained that he now turns down some criminal roles. He has also started taking on gentler characters to show a different side of his acting.

Criminal roles affected endorsements

The actor said his criminal characters became closely linked to his public image. As a result, he believes that some brands have become hesitant to work with him.

“I’ve avoided some of those criminal roles because I noticed the roles are preventing me from getting endorsements from brands. A man once told me that if Nigeria legalised guns, I would have been used to promote it, and I was confused. So it’s depriving me of so many things,” he said.

Akintunde also spoke about how people perceive actors who often play criminals.

“People who play these criminal roles are seen as irresponsible people. So I’ve considered those things and avoided some criminal roles and started diversifying to other gentle roles.”

How he started playing criminals

The actor said he never planned to build his career around criminal characters.

According to him, his first acting role was that of a thug. His performance impressed Sola Aderounmu and his boss.

“I didn’t choose the criminal roles. The first scene I ever acted in, I was a thug in the film. So Sola Aderounmu and my boss said I did it well and told me to pay attention to it. They said it’s befitting for me because of my height and my strong face,” he added.

Akintunde said his boss later helped him improve his performance. He took him to different places for rehearsals focused on criminal roles.

Dele Odule’s encouragement

The actor also recalled an encounter with veteran actor Dele Odule.

Akintunde said Odule was impressed after watching him play a criminal in a movie. The veteran actor then contacted him and encouraged him.

“So my boss took me to other places for rehearsal to get better in those criminal roles. Also, when I acted as a criminal in a movie that featured Dele Odule, he was very impressed by my performance. Odule called me and encouraged me.”

Akintunde’s decision to take on more diverse roles now reflects his desire to expand his career beyond the criminal characters that made him popular in the Yoruba film industry.

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