Why I handpick movies I star in – Funlola Aofiyebi-Raimi
Funlola Aofiyebi-Raii’s professional career took off in 1996 while she was studying for a diploma course in the University of Lagos. She auditioned for and got the part of Ese in hit Nollywood movie ‘Violated’, in which she featured alongside screen greats Richard Mofe-Damijo and Joke Silva. After the recognition which came from that role, […]
Funlola Aofiyebi-Raii’s professional career took off in 1996 while she was studying for a diploma course in the University of Lagos. She auditioned for and got the part of Ese in hit Nollywood movie ‘Violated’, in which she featured alongside screen greats Richard Mofe-Damijo and Joke Silva. After the recognition which came from that role, it afforded her other roles as Kofoworola Baker, the lead female character in ‘Palace’, an AIT production which ran in 1998. Then came her performance as Tam Tam in ‘Keeping Faith’, followed by Doctors’ Quarters on M-NET and Vagina Monologues for the stage. She also played Doctor Grace on BBC’s ‘Wetin Dey’ to much acclaim. In addition, she went into radio broadcasting in 1999, presenting and producing her own talk show, ‘Touch of Spice’ on Star FM in Lagos, with which she has been reaching out to young people.
It is with a look at her resume that one would understand why the young woman of many talents is picky when it comes to movie scripts or projects, as the Nollywood rumour-mill spins on and on. “I won’t say I’m picky. Not in that uppity sense anyway. Maybe I happen to prefer handpicking my scripts – and directors, too.” She added that Nigeria is blessed with truly gifted movie directors, naming what she said were a few. “Mak Kusare, Seke Somolu, Kenneth Gyang, and of course Kunle Afolayan. There are more, anyway,” she said. “So why won’t I handpick, when we have solid auteurs here?”
Tinsel sees her accepting her first dramatic role in some time, as she had taken what seemed to be a hiatus. According to her, it was because she was tired of being typecast in movies. She argued that as an artiste one should be able to show range. “When you play a particular role and play it very well, every other script that comes your way will toe that line,” she said. But her critically-acclaimed performance on Director Afolayan’s thriller The Figurine proved she has sufficient range, as it saw her in a bad girl role, shocking many of her fans, albeit pleasantly. “I had a blast doing that. It was refreshing,” she told Weekend Magazine.
Born in Lagos, the last of seven siblings – five of who are males, Funlola grew up and schooled in both Lagos and London. Then, she developed a love for the English language. Said to be a quiet child, she told Weekend Magazine that acting came naturally to her, “coupled with my fascination with human behavior, it was inevitable that I eventually forged a career in the entertainment industry.”
Described on her website, FunlolaSpice.com, as ‘down to earth, passionate and emotional, Funlola buttressed that statement by telling Weekend Magazine that: “The importance of true friendship and family cannot be overemphasized; living by life’s golden rule – do unto others as you want them to do to you.”
Funlola also stars in the well-crafted Nigerian-Ghanaian star-studded production Tinsel, currently showing on M-NET well into a second season, where she continues to shine with her top-notch performances.
Sometime ago, when Weekend Magazine asked if she’s ever nursed an entry into Kannywood, she said she had passion for both the language and the culture. “Being a Muslim, I can relate to some of the thinking. On several occasions I have been told I look like I’m Fulani.” She added then that she would love to do a Hausa movie. “Between work on TV and other things, that wish is yet to be fulfilled,” she told Weekend Magazine in-between laughter, adding: “But who knows? Maybe sooner than you think.”