Nollywood star Deyemi Okanlawon is the latest celebrity to grace Accelerate TV‘s “The Cover.”
The “Blood Sisters” star, known for his versatility and palpable charisma on screen, has seen his career rise tremendously with such a stellar ensemble of starring movie roles. Some of his best known roles include “Omo Ghetto: The Saga,” “Blood Sisters,” and “King of Boys: The Return of the King.” The father of two has also been listed as the highest-grossing Nollywood actor of 2020 and 2021.
Covering the magazine’s December issue, Deyemi talks acting, marriage, family, battling with imposter syndrome, his friendship with Jimi Odukoya, developing a thick skin, and handling feedback.
See excerpts from the interview below:
On keeping his personal life private:
It is, just like there’s significant things going on and I’m in a very happy state and I want to share something personal with the rest of the world. Other times I am very happy, just keeping my personal life personal and celebrating my wins privately, you know, at home.
On having heard about imposter syndrome and dealing with it:
Yes I have but at a much younger age so I learnt how to deal with it before I even started acting. Of course I have asked myself, am I good at this? The self doubt was there and when I started to get a bit more noticed, a bit more successful I would still question myself and wonder if I was really that good, but then I remind myself of how hard I work, training, preparing and actually filming. It’s a lot of work and it kind of reminds me that maybe this is truly deserved.
On handling feedback:
For me the feedback is in the failure. The feedback is when you do something that doesn’t quite work, that is enough feedback for you to cope. What I will not accept is somebody talking down on me and turning it into something else entirely. The feedback is in the work… if the work that I have done isn’t well received, it just tells me; you have to go work hard, you have to go work smarter, use that to get better and we have seen actors and film makers get better over time, that’s the process of life.
Watch his interview with Latasha Ngwube below.
Catch the digital version of his interview and other stories here.
