Ayo Adesanya is one of Nollywood’s most proficient actresses. Her versatility as a cross-over actress has won her accolades from different quarters, although the dazzling diva is not a stranger to controversies, most of which have to do with her relationships. In this interview with MORAKINYO OLUGBIJI, Ayo opens up a little about her failed marriage and what she is up to, career-wise.
What’s the latest about Ayo Adesanya?
There is nothing per se, but I want to tell you that the new things about me are my forthcoming projects which I wouldn’t want to talk about on the pages of newspapers for now. I am still doing the background work on them, but people should expect great things from me. This project is what people have not seen me do before. It is going to be three in one, one on movie while the remaining two are on another thing under showbiz.
How long have you been working on it?
I have been working on the project quietly for about four years now.
After the release of your hit movie, ‘Amope Alasela’, you went underground. What really happened?
Maybe I am still waiting for the inspiration. I don’t just pick my pen and start writing scripts without getting the inspiration, but I am right now working on an epic movie which will be more like this year.
Though I have acted in many epic movies in the past but I haven’t produced mine. This is my new baby that I want to nurture and it is coming to light soon.
‘Amope Alasela’ really did well in the market when it was released, just on the movie alone. I have gotten several merited awards and I am taking another one this year in Kenya. I believe God is just wonderful, I never expected much awards from the movie, I just did the movie without knowing that it would give me more recognition. The financial aspect of it was just okay, you know things are not going well with the industry when it comes to marketing. I made some profit on it but not as expected. So, I will attribute the awards as a kind of compensation.
After the movie, your status quickly increased, you featured in more movies than before…
I think when people watch the movie, they saw the extraordinary efforts I applied in film. But before then, I had acted in many blockbuster flicks, which may probably interest them to pick interest in me. What I do most is that I always put in my best when I feature in other movies away from mine. This may be the criteria before they called me to interpret one or two roles in their jobs. The role I played in ‘Amope Alasele’ was actually in that movie, I have not tried it in another person’s movie because it wasn’t easy playing it for neither mine nor another person’s.
You started with English movies, so why did you deviate to Yoruba movies?
I didn’t deviate, I still do the two together. At a time, I wasn’t acting. I wouldn’t go into details, but there was a time I was absent from the film industry and I was still receiving a lot of calls from producers both Yoruba and English to appear in their jobs and, as at then, I had not done any Yoruba film, but immediately I made my coming back, with the help of God because He is the one who actually helped me, a lot of Yoruba producers were waiting for me and this actually encouraged me before I went fully into Yoruba movie genre of Nollywood. And I am still doing English, I am like a cross-over actor, like they do call them.
Something must have happened before you stopped acting then. What was that?
At that point in time, I had to slow down a little because I was in a relationship. Between you and I, I would say it wasn’t easy to juggle that kind of career with a relationship. It takes the help of God and understanding to combine marriage and acting together. For you to succeed in combining the two together, you need a divine intervention. Then, I just needed to take my time and that influenced my break from Nollywood then.
Very soon you will celebrate 45 years…
Wow, I didn’t know that you were counting it! This is really amazing, but I will say I am just over 40 because I don’t like discussing my exact age with people.
You are still single at 45. Would you still give marriage another shot?
Are you sure that I am still single?
I wouldn’t know until you tell me…
Well, it is my personal life and I don’t like discussing my private life with people. It is left for me and the people around me to know. So, I am not going into any other details.
What gave you the courage to marry someone from that industry in the past?
I think I will attribute that to my young age. When you are still young you do a lot of funny things and as you grow up you become more mature and understand a lot of things because yours eyes will be open to so many things, I did that because I was a baby. But mind you, I didn’t say I want to get married any time soon nor looking for husband.
Meaning your previous marriage was a mistake?
I never said so. Maybe it shouldn’t have ended up like that. I keep saying that my past marriage is something I don’t want to remember or talk about at all, but you journalists won’t let me be.
What would you say didn’t make the marriage work?
I don’t know.
Who was wrong among the two of you?
Are we all perfect? Since we are not all perfect and we also have our shortcomings, like I keep saying, so it may be from him or me but I don’t know. But whichever way it is, we all have our shortcomings. As long as blood runs through our veins, that means mistakes will always surface because there is no perfect man. What I did in the past wasn’t a mistake but it made me stronger to become who I am today. It was meant to happen and it has happened. So I am okay.
If you must give marriage another shot, what is that thing you are doing that you would need to stop?
Marriage entails a lot of clarification but, between you and I, I am going to be myself because I am very unique. I am not looking for a boyfriend neither a husband but if God says I will remarry, I will remain the same person I have always been. I won’t change for anything; you will marry me the way I am. I don’t think I can still marry again, but if God says this person is right for me, why not, I will go with him.
