Actor, broadcaster, presenter and former Special Adviser to Otunba Gbenga Daniel, Yemi Shodimu, has come a long way. The Theatre Arts graduate and Master's degree holder in Mass Communication who has featured in great movies like Lanleyin, O Le Ku 1 & 2, Ti Oluwa Ni Ile, Erin Latatabu, Koseegbe, Saworoide turned 54 early this year. He had a chat with YES INTERNATIONAL!'s GBENGA SHABA on why artistes live a fake life, why he's been lying low and more…
What does it take to produce a good movie?
Research,
inspiration, hard work, creativity, technical know-how, people and more
people and fund. You need all these and without that, you can't do
much. Of course, a good research would bring out a good script;
creativity would help in packaging that script and that is it.
Who is a good actor?
A
good actor is an actor that is able to interpret a character, deliver
on that characterization and be able to work alongside others in
bringing out, not just the message, the theme, but the flair and the
purpose of such production. A good actor is a trained actor.
Why do producers find it difficult to replicate good works consistently?
Lack
of training might be one of the reasons. Fund is a huge one, because
you are limited by what you have in terms of sourcing for the best
hands, either technically or artistically. When you don't have enough
funds to prosecute projects, you go for the second best, you go for what
is available, instead of going for what is needed and that would affect
a lot of things. Planning is also a major issue, because when people
invest a lot in production and they hope to recoup so as to do a better
one next time and they don't recoup their investment, as a result of
such a discouragement, they cut corners and end up with productions with
low quality.
At what stage in life did you decide to be an actor?
Quite
early in life, I had exposure to the creative world. It was very early
in life, but I didn't see it as a way of living; as a profession. I
started thinking seriously about it after I left secondary school when I
had to start preparing for the university and my vision was to study
Drama which I did and once I did that, there was no looking back.
What were some of the steps you took then that made you who you are today?
Honestly,
I'm still a work in progress. I've learnt to learn from the older
hands, from my colleagues and even from the junior ones. I've learnt to
read widely and acquire more knowledge. I've learnt to be my biggest
critic after my wife and I've also learnt to enjoy what I'm doing and
once I'm enjoying it, people who are seeing it out there are most likely
to enjoy it as well. It is a pleasure working hard.
Why do you think that most artistes live a fake life?
I
don't know about that really. I don't live a fake life and I can't
point to those involved. But, if there are people that are involved,
they might just have their reasons; it might be a way of surviving; what
they call survival tactics or whatever. I don't know and frankly, I
don't.
After all the epic movies that brought you to limelight, we have not really seen much from you. What has been going on?
I've
been learning to stay alive, but I'm still working on something. We are
working on quite a number of things. I've done a few things outside the
industry and I'm still doing such things. But along the line, I would
still be working on some things within the industry. I've done a number
of movies that are yet to be released and my TV show is just about to
bounce back. Although I've been on radio all along, my Gbarada TV show
is about to bounce back. I've had so much pressure to raise the tempo
and we are finally getting to the moment of the big come back.
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