[p]Tobi Bakre, a popular Nigerian media personality and model, gained fame after appearing on the reality show Big Brother Naija. Recently, he made his acting debut playing the role of Obalola in the movie ‘Gangs of Lagos’. Obalola is a street king with a traumatic childhood that has left him with emotional scars.
In a recent interview, Tobi shared his experience of playing the challenging role of Obalola. He revealed that it was difficult for him to tear down his mental walls and be vulnerable, as he had to portray a strong character who also had moments of emotional vulnerability. He explained that as men, they often build walls and prepare for sad outcomes in life, but in this movie, he had to be open and emotional.
To prepare for some of the emotional scenes, Tobi shared that he drank two plastic herbal bitters within five minutes and listened to sad music, including the emotional song ‘Celia’ by Tiwa Savage. He emphasized that he was not trying to fake his emotions but needed to genuinely feel sad and be fully immersed in the character's scenario.
“For “Gangs of Lagos’, that was challenging because, for the first time, I had to tear down my walls and be vulnerable. I drank two plastic herbal bitters within five minutes, and I was listening to the saddest music, like the Celia song by Tiwa Savage. I wasn't trying to fake it [my role]. I needed to genuinely feel sad and be fully immersed in the character's scenario. I was self-reflecting, and there was a graveyard right in front of where we were shooting. So my head was in different places. Eventually, we shot that scene, and after we shot it and they said ‘cut’, everyone stayed quiet. Even the people in the background were sobbing. It was almost as if for that moment, everybody forgot that we were acting, and some people were actually tearing up,” Tobi said.
Tobi further shared that playing the character of Obalola had an impact on his personal life. He revealed that after portraying the character, he found that he became less angry and his short fuse became even shorter. He explained that he was infusing the character's attributes into his own personality, which led to positive changes in his behavior. However, he also noted that he had to take some time to ease out of the character's persona after the movie's shoot had ended.
Tobi's acting debut has been widely praised by fans and movie critics alike, with many commending his portrayal of Obalola. It is evident that the experience of playing this role has had a profound impact on Tobi and has allowed him to explore new aspects of his artistic abilities.
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