Lifestyle
Olu Jacobs: One Of Nigeria’s Creative Gifts To The World
- EKO HOT BLOG
- 24TH DECEMBER, 2020
Veteran Nollywood Actor, Olu Jacobs is undoubtedly one of the greatest Nigerian Actors of all time. He has endeared many people to the make-believe world, where he holds court entertaining millions of people.
A screen veteran whose name also rings a bell on the continent’s movie circuit. In an industry where only a handful of his contemporaries are still active in the industry and young thespians saturating the space, his star glitters.
If people could be described as born actors, he fits into that role. His professionalism informs his performance on theatrical stages with performances at theatres in Europe, with appearances in several British television series in the 1970s.
Though perfectly fit for the film industry, Jacobs never set out to become an actor, until an encounter with Herbert Ogunde, the pioneer in the field of Nigerian folk opera, who was regarded as the father of Nigerian theatre? Ogunde and his theatre group had visited Kano for a performance at the Colonial Hotel, Kano, where young Jacobs had gone to watch Ogunde perform, and fell in love with the make-believe world.
Born on July 11, 1942, in Abeokuta, Ogun State, Jacobs spent his early childhood in Kano and attended Holy Trinity School, where he was a member of the debating and drama societies. For his love for acting, Jacobs left the shores of Nigeria for London to study acting at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London without informing his father. The latter was against his choice of career.
Upon graduation, he worked with various repertoire theatres in Britain and also as a member of the National Theatre of Great Britain.
Jacobs paved a successful path for many actors and actresses in the film industry, who today refer to him as Uncle Olu Jacobs. One of Nigeria’s creative gifts to the world, Jacobs went international on-stage performance with ‘Murderous Angels: A Political Tragedy and Comedy in Black and White’ Written by Conor Cruise O’Brien and performed at the Dublin Theatre Festival in 1971, followed by Richard’s Cork Leg at Royal Court Theatre, London, in 1972.
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His first screen appearance was in 1971, The Goodies television show, he featured in Season 2, Episode 4 – “Lost Tribe” of the Orinoco”. Coming on the heels of that was the role of Television repairman in the television series Till Death Do Us Part, Season 5, Episode 3, “Strikes and Blackouts”
He made his debut on the big screen in 1979 starring in Ashanti as Commissioner Batak. He gained more prominence with his role as Customs Officer, in The Dogs of War, a movie adaption of Frederick Forsyth’s novel of the same title. His role in the movie remains one of the most memorable in his acting career.
The film was directed by John Irvin and starred Christopher Walken and Tom Berenger. It centres on a small mercenary unit of soldiers privately hired to depose the president of a fictional African country so that a British tycoon can gain access to a platinum deposit.
He played the small role of a corrupt immigration officer, which earned him critical acclaim, at a time the American film industry did not provide enough opportunities for African Americans and African actors.
Other movie involvements include Roman Polanski’s adventure-comedy Pirates, (1986) and the family-adventure film Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend (1985). He returned to Nigeria in the early 1980s and starred as Inspector Best Idafa in the award-winning series, Third Eye in1990.
The Nigerian veteran actor has starred in more than 130 Nollywood movies. He won the African Movie Academy Award for Best Actor in a leading role in 2007. In 2013, Olu Jacobs was honoured with the Industry Merit Award for outstanding achievements in acting at the Africa Magic Viewers Choice Awards.
Jacobs is married to seasoned actress, Joke Silva, whose marriage contrary to what naysayers say waxes stronger by the day. He recalled in an interview how the union started. He stated that from the day he set his eyes on her, he knew she was the woman he was going to marry.
“I was invited to come and do a play in Nigeria by the National Theatre. I was living in England at that time. I was to play the lead in Wole Soyinka’s The Trials of Brother Jero. We were having the production when the door opened, and this lady walked in and said sorry, we are ready.
When she walked in, “I said excuse me, ladies and gentlemen, this is the lady I am going to marry. I saw her, and I was attracted. I had to struggle to get her. She was stunned even though she gave me up and down.” The union is blessed with a daughter, Dayo and two sons, Olusoji and Olugbenga.
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