My Life In Nollywood: Abayomi Alvin 

Every week, The Culture Custodian grants you an all-access backstage pass into the lives of Nollywood rock stars. You learn about their fascinating backgrounds, the behind-the-scenes stories, and more. This episode features actor, content creator, and producer Abayomi Alvin.

For Abayomi Alvin, professional acting was an afterthought. As a young adult, he got into film to continually be in the faces of everyone and protect his modeling career. With minimal formal training in acting, his growth depended on his talent and sheer grit as he kept attending auditions. From getting a waka pass role on the Jenifa’s Diary set where he was paid a thousand naira, Alvin gradually evolved into a mainstay in the industry. Full of youthful zest and charisma, Alvin often steps into the roles of a young, charming lover boy or an urbane man. His Instagram page is a beehive of humorous content, and he often collaborates with popular skit maker and friend Ouwadolarz.

One of the 2024 films he starred in is Uno: The F in Family, produced by Ebuka Njoku and Lorenzo Menakaya, where he portrays the character of Kenzibe, a photographer with a sense of humor. Alvin has also starred in other Nollywood productions such as Knockout Blessing, Isoken, Moms At War, The Trade, A Naija Christmas, MTV Shuga, and Atunwa.

This interview with Alvin has been edited for clarity.

You have been acting for over a decade and have appeared in several notable Nollywood film and TV productions. What inspired you to pursue an acting career?

I started acting as a means to be relevant as a model. At first, between 2009 and 2011, I was into music and frequenting studios. One day, a certain professor came to my church in Ibadan and organized a two-month crash course in acting. I already loved acting as a hobby before that time and saw the training as an avenue to improve my talent. But while I was still doing music, I started getting reactions from people that I should model. I ventured into modeling and it was paying me, so my passion for music started dying. As a model, I won Mr. Ideal Osun state and entered into different pageantries in school and won them. I also won Mr Ideal Nigeria. I also did a couple of runway shows and photography. But then, after winning Mr Ideal Nigeria, I wanted more to keep me in the spotlight, so I reverted to acting and started going for auditions. One of my earliest auditions was in Ikeji but I didn’t get the role.

You mentioned in an interview that you kept attending auditions for two years without getting any role. What was the experience like?

It was not funny at all. I was in school back then, and people often gave me the assurance I could act but the roles were not coming. The very first role I got was in a particular AGN production, Theatre of Dreams. I got a lead role in the series, but the series never came to light anyway. The second role was in a movie that had stars like John Dumelo and Yvonne Jegede. After that, I got on Jenifa’s Diary as an extra, before my scenes miraculously multiplied.

Can you recall your first Nollywood gig?

I think it was the movie that had John Dumelo and Yvonne Jegede. I can’t remember the title but I was paid nine thousand naira.

What was your university education like?

Initially, I wanted to study Medicine but settled for Microbiology at Obafemi Awolowo University hoping to change after my first year. That didn’t work out, so I switched to Sociology and Anthropology..

Do you have any professional training and certification in acting?

Apart from the certification from the crash course I did in 2011, I have no other.

Reflecting on your formative years, are there memories or experiences with family and friends that aided your career traction?

I come from a liberal family. As far as I remember, there were about two underground or stage actors in the family. I am the first to do mainstream acting. Growing up, however, it was mostly music for me. In the ‘90s and early 2000s, I remember listening to Lagbaja and embracing the likes of 2Face, Faze, and P-Square, among others. When Davido and Wizkid came up, I wanted to be like them. Acting was just a hobby. I remember my first acting experience in primary school where I played the servant to a king. There was a plate of rice which I was supposed to pretend to eat, but I ate it instead. Back then, whenever I played some game with my friends, I would give them a storyline for us to enact. All along, I never saw myself as a professional actor until I became a young adult.

Can you remember any acting experiences that pushed you beyond your limits?

There are two. The first is a schizophrenic character I played in Diary of The Damned. It pushed me to do a lot of research, including watching movies that had convincing schizophrenic characters. The second, which is quite recent, is my role as a very angry guy in Atunwa. Since the movie came out on Prime Video, a lot of people have stopped to ask me if I am actually like the character I played in real life. Looking back, it’s one of the characters that I am happy to have received in my career. That’s because producers tend to cast me as this sweet, happy guy or playboy.

What dream role(s) do you look forward to playing?

I have a few. I would love to play an antihero—similar to a character like Deadpool, but one that fits into the Nigerian setting. I also would like to play a pilot in a major role where I would deliver lines that include jargon associated with the aviation industry—different from what I did in The Trade. Then, I want to play a doctor who has done something remarkable, such as Ben Carson or any doctor who is involved in some uncommon, groundbreaking surgical operation.

There have been conversations around the quality of storytelling in Nollywood, and I particularly remember an X post from Kehinde Bankole where she stated plainly that our screenwriters needed to improve their writing. What are your thoughts about this?

The poor storytelling is usually the fault of the producer, not the screenwriter. The screenwriter writes what the producer wants to shoot according to the budget. When you talk to these screenwriters, you will discover that they have amazing stories, but they are forced to work with the producer’s plan.

Do you have role models or mentors within or outside Nollywood?

Outside of Nollywood, my mom. That’s because she’s hardworking. In the industry, the work rates of Funke Akindele, Toyin Abraham, Kunle Afolayan, and Femi Adebayo are insane, and I look up to them.

You seem to be a really fun person. How do you spend your leisure time?

Whenever I am not working, I watch a lot of movies and digital content. I like to know what other people are up to, so I access people through films from different mediums. I also love to hang out with my people. We go swimming, playing sports and gyming. I travel mostly for work, but I also want to start doing so for leisure.

What’s your all-time favorite Nollywood film?

I don’t have a specific one. I like Hostages by Tade Ogidan, Igodo, Issakaba, Brotherhood, and Funmilayo Ransome-Kuti., among others.

What Nollywood projects should we expect from you?

I have a lot of movies coming out on my YouTube channel, Abayomi Alvin TV this year. There are movies I did with Zeb Ejiro, Bolanle Austen-Peters, and Kayode Peters, which will probably be out this year.