Tobi Bakre Opens Up On What He Had To Go Through To Fit Into His Role In The Gang Of Lagos

Former Big Brother Naija reality show star and actor, Tobi Bakre has disclosed all the things he did to fit into his role in a movie the ‘Gangs of Lagos.’

Speaking during a recent episode of Menisms audiovisual podcast, Bakre disclosed that it was his first time playing a lead character.

According to him, he had to tear down the strong walls he had built around himself so he could unveil his vulnerability in the movie.

He said, “For Gangs of Lagos’, that was challenging because like for the first time… you know as guys now, we build so many walls like you are ready for all the possible sad outcomes in life mentally. Like you don’t know it but… I was now playing the role of a strong guy but then in the same movie, he had moments when he had to be vulnerable. Bro, I had the toughest time. I had to tear my walls down.

“You know those plastic [herbal bitters] drinks na? I drank two within the space of five minutes. I just felt like I drank water because I didn’t feel anything. I was listening to the saddest music. This is the song I always remember from Gangs of Lagos, Celia song by Tiwa Savage. It is a very emotional song. I wasn’t trying to fake it [my role]. I needed to be actually sad, I needed to be there. So, I was putting myself in the scenario of this character.

“I was self-reflecting. There was a graveyard right in front of where we were shooting. So my head was in different places. And eventually, we shot that scene. After we shot it, and they said ‘cut’, everyone stayed quiet. And people in the background were sobbing. It was almost as if for that moment everybody forgot that we were acting and some people were actually tearing up.”

The thespian, who played the role of Obalola, a street King said he rolled on the floor and rubbed sand on his face to fit into the role.

He revealed that he struggled to leave the character for a while after the movie.

Tobi said, “It [the character] leads sometimes like my wife now when I got home initially… Hardly, anger is the last emotion you can get but my fuss became shorter. On the road I’m driving, my fuss is a bit shorter because of this character I’m currently infusing. So, after the whole thing I had to just ease out.”