Iremide Adeoye, a rapidly emerging Nollywood actor, has shared how portraying a gay character significantly enhanced his career. In an interview with Premium Times, the 26-year-old actor and digital content creator recounted his experience, revealing that the audience resonated with the character far more than he initially anticipated.
He expressed his surprise at the overwhelmingly positive reception of his portrayal, emphasizing the importance of audiences connecting with the character. Iremide stated, “When the audience can relate to the character, that’s great news for me. People have come to resonate more with the character, way more than I expected, and that is the joy for me as an actor when the audience can relate with the surface; that’s great news for me.”
Iremide played the role of Lolu Adeleke, a queer character in Nollywood, which he described as the most significant queer representation on such a scale in the industry. Despite concerns about potential backlash for portraying a queer character in a country with strong homophobic sentiments, Iremide was pleasantly surprised by the positive reception. He acknowledged the existence of some negative aspects but chose to focus on the love and appreciation he received for his work.
He concluded by saying, “For me, I don’t want to focus on the negativity that comes from playing that character; the love and the people that do appreciate the work that I do is what I pay my attention to.”
Gloria