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Bolanle Austen-Peters’ period film House of Ga’a (2024) accounts for the life of Basorun Gaa, an 18th-century Old Oyo warlord and Prime Minister who was known for his high-handedness with which he controlled the people and facilitated the dethronement of four rulers of the Empire. Released on Netflix, the biopic comes on the heels of […]
Bolanle Austen-Peters’ period film House of Ga’a (2024) accounts for the life of Basorun Gaa, an 18th-century Old Oyo warlord and Prime Minister who was known for his high-handedness with which he controlled the people and facilitated the dethronement of four rulers of the Empire. Released on Netflix, the biopic comes on the heels of existing stories and popular culture representations of the traditional figure, such as Adebayo Faleti’s 2004 film Basorun Gaa.
Austen-Peters lends a fresh breath to Yoruba history in her story. While skirting around the household influences of the Old Oyo enigma, the filmmaker spotlights his notorious military and political tactics. The lead role is played by Femi Branch, who confesses in this interview to being a perpetual lover of history and claims that he couldn’t have turned down the job when he got the call to join the production.
From his research about the character before filming, Femi Branch gathers that there is no single, wholesome interpretation of Basorun Gaa’s life history. The actor realizes that while the historical figure has often been demonized for his malevolent personality, some people consider him a revolutionary with unconventional strategies, who, in the interest of the Old Oyo masses, resisted the chokeholds of ruthless dynasties.
In this interview, Femi Branch expresses his sentiments about the systematic extrication of History as a subject from the secondary education curriculum in Nigeria, talks about animating his character, and relives other key production moments. The interview has been condensed for clarity.
Your portrayal of Basorun Gaa, a ruthless warlord and Prime Minister, in House of Gaa, was impressive. What informed your decision to play this role and be a part of the historical film?
It wasn’t a hard sell for me because it was Bolanle Austen-Peters. When you get called by certain people you can’t say “no” because you know the quality of their work and their dedication to their craft as well as the kind of mileage their work always pulls. Secondly, I’m a history buff. I love history and I was so sad when I found out some years ago that history was canceled in schools. Getting the chance to be a part of our history as Yoruba people, which I feel this current generation has been deprived of, was all the motivation I needed to play Ga’a.
It would also be interesting to know how you researched for the role and what similar characters you studied. Could you walk us through your preparation for the interpretation of Basorun Gaa?
These days, information is literally at your fingertips. Whatever resource material you need almost on every subject is there online. I read about Basorun Gaa while I was in school, but I can’t even remember most of what I read then. When Bolanle told me about the character, I did a lot of research and found out more about him that is not in the public domain. I talked to a couple of people who are students of history and are more knowledgeable about the history of the Yoruba and the Old Oyo Empire. All the materials garnered from these different sources helped me to piece together the condiments needed to cook the character of Gaa.
The cast on set is a blend of veterans such as Dele Odule, Bimbo Manuel, Funke Akindele, Femi Adebayo and Toyin Abraham, and new generation or fast-rising actors like Mike Afolarin, Tosin Adeyemi and Bridget Nkem. How did you approach creating a bond with these actors and their characters to facilitate your performance?
It wasn’t much of a challenge. To start with, these are all professionals who are quite good at what they do. And I’ve worked with almost all of them before. I worked with Mike Afolarin on Far From Home. I’ve worked with Tosin Adeyemi before, and it’s very funny because, somehow, we usually end up being paired as love interests. The chemistry between us was something that had developed over time. The trust was there, so the sex scenes were easy for us.
What challenges and possible creative differences did you encounter on set regarding the interpretation of your character, which you would like to shed light on?
There were no challenges because we rehearsed for weeks before we went on set. Bolanle was a very hands-on director who would call and follow up on the progress of getting into character weeks before we appeared on set. I was already Gaa before I got on set. The only challenge we had while filming was the weather. It was during the rainy season. Austen-Peters got a huge expanse of land in Epe, and the set was built from scratch. Whenever it rained, we had to wait for the workmen to do some things there. The workmen were even building while we were still filming. But it all made for an interesting experience.
Which actors and crew members did you enjoy working with the most on set?
Everybody worked as a family. That’s how it is with Bolanle Austen-Peters. As much as she expected us to be on top of our game, she played with everybody and we were all at ease. I was literally in character throughout the entire month on set. It was a bit of a struggle for me to get out of character any time we were not filming. But when you have people like Yemi Blaq and Uncle Bimbo Manuel around, it’s always fun and you cannot feel sorrowful or depressed.
What scenes would you consider your favorite?
My favorite scenes were with Oyemekun, Mike Afolarin’s character. The father-and-son synergy was good. I loved the scene where Ga’a was seeing him off to Dahomey, and when he came to attack him on the bed. I mentioned these because I know the amount of work that Mike put into delivering those scenes. I love it when I meet young actors who ask for advice and guidance. It gladdens my heart and I see myself in them. So, when Mike came around to me to glean from my experience, I was excited. He was able to mold the father that he wanted from me, and I also was able to get the son I wanted from him. Our relationship on set was very symbiotic.
Considering that, over the years, we have seen you take up overly confident and often mean characters on screen, are there aspects of your character as Basorun Gaa that resonate with your personality or background?
The only good thing people have to say about Basorun Gaa is that he is family-oriented. He loved his family. That alone is the aspect that resonates with Femi Branch. As for being offered mean characters on screen, I think that is the concern of the producers and directors. I will play any role unless it is one that I am morally averse to.
You have a background in stage production at the Obafemi Awolowo University dating back to 1991, and there is no denying that this has contributed to your development in Nollywood over the years. But then, what was the starting point for you in the industry?
I did start from the stage at Ife. My first movie was also a production of the dramatic arts department. We had a professional acting company in the department that was responsible for productions and commercial plays. The company put together a Yoruba epic titled Orirun. I was a 200L student on campus back then when the company took some of us, which marked my first foray into film. But that didn’t make much of an impression. It was not until years later that I did my first contemporary film, Women of Love, with Lloyd Weaver, an American naturalized Nigerian, as director.
When I sent a message earlier, you said you were working on a project. Would you like to talk about that and any other creative exploits we should expect from you?
We are currently filming Glamour Girls 2 in Abuja. My project is also in pre-production. We are hoping to start principal photography this year. This project is about our history. It is a very sensitive issue and is centered around a particular character that has been portrayed with much notoriety. But in my research, I found out that the person was just a victim. People will be shocked to discover that I am related to the man by maternal ancestry.