Bimbo Akintola’s promise to herself will inspire you

Award-winning actress Bimbo Akintola has spent the last 20 years making Nigerians fall in love with whatever role she has interpreted.

From Out of Bounds to The Mourning After, her talent, charm and bubbly personality have lit up the screens.

Bimbo Akintola, a Theatre Arts graduate of the University of Ibadan, has had an interesting acting career.

“I feel honoured to have been given the opportunity to play such a great woman. Everyone I met had something good to say about Adadevoh, and that helped me to have a good understanding of the character. While shooting some scenes at First Consultant Hospital Obalende, I had cause to pick up something from my car. As I made my way back to where we were shooting , some of the staff who saw me wept. They said I reminded them of her.

“This was because the make-up and costume were so apt. It was challenging having to play her because I had to depend on narratives by people who had personal relationships with her. I wished I could see her and study her mannerisms. Since I had no videos to learn from, I played her strong points; the fact that she was a principled person. I also portrayed her stern yet motherly nature.”

Bimbo Akintola owes her success in life to her mother’s selfless nature.

“I learnt kindness and honesty from my mum. She would pick up every child on the street and every child that the car could take and drop them at their homes. My mum would feed people’s children and these are some of the virtues I hold very dear to heart,” she notes.

But her decision to become an actress was not without some setbacks and challenges. She recollects, “My father was not impressed with my decision to become an actress and you won’t blame him. Those days, people misunderstood actors and their judgments were based on the sort of roles they portrayed. Actors didn’t make much money and my father also wanted me to secure my future. He was that concerned because he didn’t think I would earn a living by becoming an actor.”

Thankfully, his stance became short-lived when Akintola earned critical acclaim for her numerous acting roles in blockbusters like The Mourning After, Owo Blow, Out of Bounds, Diamond Ring and Dangerous Twins.

While some persons go the acting route for fame, for Akintola, it was all about making an impact.  She notes, “I didn’t think about the glam when I went into acting. In retrospect, acting is where my passion lies. It is what gives me wings to fly. An outlet, it helps me bring out all of the creativity that is inside of me. If I had to live my life all over again, I would still be an actress.”

“I am extremely proud of all I have achieved. What is most important to me is being able to affect lives and change. I don’t know about being under celebrated but I  have a feeling of satisfaction with every project I have been involved in. I can understand why some people think this way. It is because I’m not a very public person. I don’t attend every event and I’m not at every red-carpet event; it’s just not my idea of fun.

Bimbo Akintola produced “Circle of Three” because it is a story she is very passionate about.

“I think it’s a story that needs to be told because of the way women are treated when they are still single after a particular age. It is very wicked and honestly, it shouldn’t be allowed. It’s comforting when women out there find out that they don’t need to listen to everything that is said, especially the negative talks.”