Lateef Adedimeji Reveals How Crying Roles Set Him Apart from Odunlade Adekola

Lateef Adedimeji explains how taking on emotional scenes helped him carve out his own identity in Nollywood. He recalls being mistaken for Odunlade Adekola early in his career and deliberately focusing on crying roles until fans began calling him the “crying machine.” He also shares how his Iya Peju persona emerged during lockdown when audiences kept asking for more of the character. At the recent Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards, his film Lisabi won Best Indigenous Language Film and Best Makeup—honours he dedicated to his wife and their three children. Reflecting on his journey, he remembers the trainer who predicted he would fail within a year and how he overcame setbacks, free work and a failed production to ultimately prove his doubters wrong.

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