Nollywood actor, Deyemi Okanlawon has revealed that he walked away from acting in 2019 due to poor remuneration and a lack of fulfilment in the profession.
The actor made the disclosure during a recent episode of the CreativiTea Podcast, which began trending on Wednesday.
Speaking about his career journey, Okanlawon said he became frustrated with the quality of work available at the time and felt the financial rewards did not match the effort required.
According to him, he had no intention of leaving a corporate career only to settle for what he described as “mediocre work.”
“I quit acting in 2019. I quit because the pay was nonsense, the work was nonsense. And I just felt like I didn’t leave 9-to-5 work to come and do mediocre work,” he said.
He added that the lack of fulfilment eventually affected his motivation, prompting him to return to a regular office job.
“It was difficult to wake up in the morning and go to work. What is the point of being passionate about something and then not being fulfilled by it? So I quit and then went back to 9-to-5 work,” he said.
Reflecting on his early years in Nollywood, Okanlawon also opened up about the challenges he faced trying to establish himself in the industry.
According to him, he did not fit the conventional image of a leading man and was often judged for lacking the “packaged” appearance expected by filmmakers.
“I didn’t fit the industry’s idea of a leading man—no ‘packaged’ look, just an intense, unconventional presence. I was even told I was ‘too expensive,’ without the Instagram numbers to back it up. So I built the audience.
“The real challenge was that there was no template for who I was. That gap between my vision and the industry catching up is where many compromise; I refused to,” he said.
