Lets know about Tope Tedela (brief bio/background)
I was born in Surulere, Lagos, Nigeria and I’m the first child of four children. I attended K. Kotun Memorial Nursery & Primary School; Lagos State Model College, Meiran; and University of Lagos for my primary, secondary and university education respectively.
We learnt you studied mass communication at the University of Lagos. At what point did you decide to take up acting as a career?
Acting had always been something that I loved and at the time I was going to the university I wanted to study Theatre Arts but people around me thought that studying a ‘more professional’ course, whatever that meant, was better. Since I am/was also interested in television and radio presenting at the time, I ended up studying Mass Communication.
Prior to getting into university, I was testing my feet in the waters of auditions and trying to get acting gigs. I finally booked a role in the TV series Edge of Paradise and the story starts from there.
It is perceived by youths/ upcoming artistes that you would need to know a lot of people/ have a lot of contacts as a beginner before you can make impact or be recognized in the movie Industry. Do you agree?
I think there are a lot of factors that determine success in entertainment, in other endeavors and I am not one to pontificate on this subject matter. However, the thinking that you need to know somebody as the bedrock of how one approaches one’s life or work is faulty. No one can run the race alone but there is a lot an individual can and should do. Does that mean you shouldn’t network or seek help and support? Absolutely not.
And a question that I also ask myself is: what are successful people doing that I can glean from.
What were the challenges you faced when you embark on the journey of being in the movie industry.
Rejection, for whatever reason, is one of the most challenging aspects of being emerging actor because it hits the core of your existence. And starting out you can think that it’s a personal vendetta against you. But as you grow, you realize that there are many dynamics to casting that may have nothing to do with how talented you are.
Also, starting out you may have to do a lot of jobs with little pay and those periods could be very frustrating.
How were you able to overcome them?
This is where passion kicks in and keeps propelling you to keep keeping on. I had to speak to myself amidst all the negative voices in my head that I could succeed, that I had a place and just kept working as hard and as smart as I could.
I tried to be as prepared as I could be for every audition and kept attending as many acting workshops and festivals as I could just to learn, network and so on.
And I pray.
Congratulations on your win at the Amvca’s, Bon and the Nma’s. Before you bagged the aforementioned awards, did you at any point feel the need to drop acting for a 9-5? If yes, What kept you going?
Someone has to do a 9-5, it’s just the way the world is structured, for balance. I had a 9-5 before I decided to take up acting as a career path. One of the major challenges is that you may not necessarily know where the next pay-check is coming from. It takes a lot of courage to stay on the path. All that I’ve ever seen myself doing revolves around the performing arts and one time that I took up some gig on the side, I almost died of frustration.
Winning those awards, how did that make you feel?
It’s a humbling experience to have been won the awards that I have won and I do not take it for granted. It opened doors and I remain thankful for everything.
Were there people who told you you wouldn’t do well as an actor? Did you ever see yourself doing well as an actor?
A couple of people were surprised that I wanted to be an actor and other people out of love or fear or concern tried to dissuade me but I had this desire to act. And though I worry a lot and could be critical of myself, I always felt that there would be light at the end of the tunnel.
Let’s ask you a tricky question. If you were to choose between a role not so challenging but comes with an enormous pay and a very challenging role you know you can pull off with not so much pay, which will you go for and why?
This is truly a tricky question. One of the major things creative people have to deal with is finding that balance between art/craft and financial gain — what some people may term critical acclaim and commercial success.
There are jobs that may not pay so well but they satisfy your creative longings and vice versa. One has to be wise in making decisions too.
I say that until you’re faced with the circumstance, it’s easy to sit around and talk smart on these matters
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