Lateef Adedimeji, a popular Nollywood actor and filmmaker, has disclosed that he was paid a sum of ₦1,000 after playing a lead role in a film in 2010.
The actor stated that he was paid the paltry sum after playing a lead role after spending 10 days on the set for the film shot in Ilorin, Kwara State.
Describing it as a tough experience, he said he was paid the sum of ₦8,000 after having played about eight scenes in the film and without being given feeding money until Day Six.
The versatile Nollywood actor further disclosed that, up till 2015, he was earning as low as between ₦4,000, ₦5,000 and ₦10,000 for playing lead roles in other films before fortune smiled on him.
Lateeef Adedimeji made the revelations in one episode of the popular #Teju Babyface Deep Dive Podcast.
The popular Nollywood actor added that it was not until 2015 that he started earning between ₦100,000 and ₦200,000 for roles.
“If I tell people that I wasn’t collecting ₦100,000, ₦200,000 until 2015/16, a lot of people would not believe me. Before then, the highest I collected for a lead role was either ₦4,000, ₦5,000 or ₦10,000,” Adedimeji said.
Speaking on the ₦1,000 he was paid on the film shot at in Ilorin in 2010, Adedimeji said: “There is a lead role that I did for 10 days that I was given a thousand naira.
“I spent 10 days on that set. I wasn’t even given feeding money until day six. I have played about eight scenes for ₦8,000. It was really a tough one.”
Adedimeji revealed that he, at that time, considered giving up acting and looking for a corporate position. He added that he decided to give it another chance after conversations with his mentors in the industry.
Recalled that the now famous Nollywood actor gained popularity from his role in Kudi Klepto in 2013.
Over the years, he has featured in multiple Nollywood films. These included Sugar Rush (2019), The New Patriots (2020), Breaded Life (2021), Ayinla (2021).
He also featured prominently in Jagun Jagun (2023), a Yoruba Nollywood film which won two Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Award (AMVCA) for Best Indigenous Film (West Africa) and Best Costume Design.
Adedimeji is set to feature in two upcoming Nollywood films in 2024, including Wole Soyinka: The Biopic, directed by Joshua Ojo, and Red Circle, directed by Akay Mason.
