Olu Jacob: Actor's father didn't want him to be an actor

Olu Jacobs disobeyed his father to begin a career in acting. He also shares how he got his father to forgive him.

Olu Jacobs is currently one of the most respected veterans in Nollywood.

But his father initially didn't want him to go into acting, the "Oloibiri" actor told Punch in a new interview.

"My Dad did not want me to go to England. I was his favourite child. When I said that I wanted to act, he said I should do something else and not anything that would take me away from him," said the actor.

 

To make amends with his father after he travelled to England, the actor sent him his favourite - a new pipe and some tobacco.

"When I got to London, I had to send him a message. As the closest person to him in the family, I knew the right thing that would calm him was tobacco. My father loved tobacco. He was a piper.

So I bought him a new pipe and some tobacco and sent them to him through somebody who was travelling home. And he forgave me for disobeying him," he said.

 

But it wasn't an easy journey as he recalled his experience with a particular racist.

"A white woman once called me a dog," he said. "She had a vacant room for rent. But when I approached her, she asked if I didn’t see the ‘No dogs’ sign on her door.

Before I could respond, she said that a dog was better than me and then slammed the door in my face. I felt so bad that I almost decided to return to Nigeria."

 

But he didn't return or give up on his dreams. In England, the actor trained at The Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London, before starring in various British television shows and series in the 1970s.

He has featured in over 50 recommendable Nollywood movies.

from pulse.ng - Nigeria's entertainment & lifestyle platform online