Lateef Adedimeji Reveals Secret Behind His Famous Crying Roles in Nollywood

(Nigerian students. Photo Credit: Nation News)

Actor and filmmaker Lateef Adedimeji has revealed that crying on screen early in his career was a deliberate strategy to help him stand out in the competitive movie industry.

Speaking during an interview on The Morayo Show, Adedimeji said breaking into Nollywood was difficult, and he needed a unique trait that would make audiences remember him.

The actor recalled that he was initially recognised mainly for his resemblance to a senior colleague.

While he appreciated the comparison, he wanted to be known for something uniquely his own.

He explained that when he first came into the industry, things were quite challenging, as people would often refer to him as the one who resembled Odun, a colleague he deeply respected, calling him "Odun's brother."

He said while being compared to someone great was a beautiful thing, he also felt that as a practitioner, people needed to know him for something distinctly his.

He said this led him to sit down, do a lot of research, and ask himself what aspect of performance people weren't paying much attention to that was still important.

He said that if he were given a role requiring him to shed tears for even just two seconds, he would put real effort into making those tears convincing.

The approach worked, and audiences soon began identifying him by that trait, eventually earning him the nickname "crying machine."

He said that at some point, people started calling him that, and even when they didn't know his name, they would describe him as "that guy who cries so much in movies."

He said that was when he knew he was getting somewhere, because people were beginning to identify him with something that was distinctly his, and from there, they eventually came to know his name.

The actor also stressed that versatility is key to longevity in the industry, noting that as an entertainer, one has to be versatile and know a bit about everything.