Apri 15, (THEWILL) – Tobi Bakre, popularly known for his appearance on the reality show, Big Brother Naija, has revealed some of the things he had to do for his role in the controversial movie, ‘Gangs of Lagos’, to look real.
In the movie, Tobi played the role of Obalola, a street king with a traumatic childhood that left him with emotional scars.
Regarding his experience playing the character, Tobi shared that it was challenging because he had to tear down his mental walls and be vulnerable and emotional.
To prepare for some of the emotional scenes, Tobi shared that he drank two plastic herbal bitters within five minutes and listened to sad music including the emotional song ‘Celia’, by Tiwa Savage.
“For ‘Gangs of Lagos’, it was challenging because you know as guys, we build so many walls like you are ready for all the possible sad outcomes in life mentally. I played the role of a strong guy but then in the same movie, I had moments when I had to be vulnerable. I had the toughest time. I had to tear my walls down.
“You know those plastic [herbal bitters] drinks? 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,’ the ‘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.
“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. The movie 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.
