Second runner-up in the edition 2010 of Mr Nigeria and actor in the multiple award-winning series, Tinsel, Baaj Adebule has said that his passion has always been for the arts.
“I have always had a passion for the arts, especially acting and filmmaking, for as long as I can remember,” he told TheNiche.
Having also featured in several movies and advertisements for heavyweight brands, his debut movie, Seeing Betrayal, is set to captivate everyone’s minds. He explained that though expressing his passion may sound like a cliche, it is a fact.
“As a little boy, watching tonnes of movies, series and cartoons was my favourite hobby, even till now. I fantasised about it endlessly as a child and always felt transported to another realm whenever I watch. At the time, I craved to star in these movies and give the audience the same feelings I get when I watch them. My role models are Leonardo Di Caprio, Denzel Washington, Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Meryl Streep, and so on. They were and are like gods or super humans or aliens to me,” stated the young man who described himself as hard-working, easy-going, and ambitious realist with strong passion for the arts.
“I’m more or less an open book most of the time. Not as complicated as most actors, so I’d love to be described as a down-to-earth, straightforward kind of individual. I say what I mean and I mean what I say. A man of his words, so to speak, except when I’m being sarcastic, of course, which I hear is relatively usually the case,” he playfully explained.
Baaj is not just an actor; he is also a model, television VJ and, just recently, a filmmaker.
The graduate of economics from Covenant University hails from Ogun State and is the last born of a big and lovely family. Single and in his 20s, he seems to have time only for his career which started in 2010.
“I got an opportunity to start living my dream of being an actor as I featured on Mnet’s award-winning TV Series, Tinsel. This made my family and friends really proud, especially for having such a big start. However, afterwards, I kind of disappeared for two years to improve and discover what I really want from life,” he recalled.
Then he began home-schooling himself by reading, watching, acting, and training videos and write ups off the Internet. He returned fully in 2012 and thus far has featured in various movies and television series like: Studio, Deadline, A Perfect Plan, Happy Family, Two Sides of a Coin, Honeymoon Hotel, Four Crooks and a Rookie, Heaven’s Hell, Lekki Wives Season 3, 7 Inch Curve, just to mention a few.
Perhaps his greatest pride is his filmmaking debut which saw him last month produce, direct and star in the film, Seeing Betrayal. The flick also features Ani Iyoho and Rachael Emem Isaac.
He is, however, not resting on his laurels so far, as he said every day he tries to improve on virtually every part of him, “mentally and physically; I still read up on acting, scriptwriting and filmmaking. I watch and study movies and other actors” because there is always something to learn from the director and co-stars.
“I am always pressing to improve myself because the minute you stop getting better is the minute you stop being good. It is a very competitive business. Being good is never good enough, and to be the best, you have to keep getting better,” he said.
As an actor in Nigeria, his dream goes beyond the country’s film industry to Hollywood, which he has always wanted to be a part of as soon as the opportunity calls. Until then, however, he is aiming at being one of the best actors and filmmakers Africa has ever seen.
“I want a child somewhere, someday to be inspired and motivated to become an actor because he got to witness my work in the industry. I want to play my role in taking the film industry in Nigeria to the next level. I am constantly learning and working hard to improve myself as an actor and also planning to study acting and filmmaking abroad,” he added.
