Tobi, who played Obalola, a street king started up nondescript with a childhood nestled with scars of little beginning.
He said it was his first time playing a lead character, and the first time he really let himself go to embody a character.
The ex-BBNaija star was featured in the recent episode of Menisms’ audiovisual podcast by Olumurewa and Michael Sonariwo.
Tobi 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.”
‘Gangs of Lagos’, produced and directed by Jade Osiberu, is the first African Original for the video streaming platform, Amazon Prime.
The movie that hit the screens on April 7, 2023, follows the story of three friends; Obalola (Tobi Bakre), Gift (Adesua Etomi-Wellington) and Ify (Chike-Ezekpeazu Osebuka), who each have to navigate their own destiny, growing up on the rough and bustling streets of Isale Eko, Lagos.
