Some call her sexy T. But her real name is Tolulope
Yesufu. Recently, she spoke to CityPeople about her successful career.
"I'm a UK-based Filmmaker" she explains." I'm also a Business Analyst and Scrum
Master. I'm the General Secretary of the UK Nollywood Producers Guild and
Welfare Secretary of TAMPAN UK CHAPTER." She is doing so well. She is
highly talented and committed to her craft.
She started her acting career 13 years ago, in 2008 in the UK and she has since not only been acting but also writing and producing movies which have gone on to win several awards in the categories of Best Actress, Best Producer, Best Movie, Best Screenplay.
How did acting start for her?"Acting for me started when I wasn't expecting it to happen. I love reading and writing so I've always seen myself more as a writer. But then a lady walked up to me at work one day in the UK to sell me her just-released movie which was on DVD and after buying, she came back the next day and said she had a movie she wrote and wanted to shoot and I looked exactly like the person she had in mind for that role. I told her I hadn't acted before and she said I would be fine and she saw something in me that she couldn't just walk away from so I took on the challenge, loved every bit of it and since then, I haven't looked back. I have attended acting classes in London and I don't just write, Act or produce movies all for the sake of doing it, I do it with a purpose, to reach out, to entertain and to educate.
I have produced and
featured in numerous movies including, Owo Oju Egun, Shattered Hearts, Murderer
In-Law, 18 Carat Mama, Basira in London, HELP, DIVA DIVA, Housewives and Girlfriends, Deliah, Secrets Untold, Abused, Mia the
Movie, Warmonger, The Promise (Ileri), The God's Are Not to Blame (Stage) and
much more."
How has it been sustaining her interest in acting?
"It's been quite challenging and one of the challenges we
have is we struggle getting funding or Sponsorship here in the UK unlike
filmmakers based in Nigeria. You know in Nigeria if you're into film making it's
like a full-time job so you make as many movies as you can and get to feature
in much more than those of us based here who don't do it full time. Most
filmmakers based here are Independent filmmakers and we still find time outside
our jobs to shoot our movies. I have a lot of passion for creative art and that
has kept me going. I love and enjoy what I do when it come to filmmaking."
Where was she born?
"I was born in Ikeja, Lagos state, to late Alhaji
Taiyelolu Yesufu (Former Managing director of Cocoa Industry Limited) and Chief
Mrs. Yesufu and grew up living in the Adeniyi Jones area.
I attended Chrisland
Nursery and Primary School Opebi, then went on to Secondary school at F.
G. G. S Akure and then to Federal Polytechnic Offa Kwara State."
"Growing up for me was awesome, having been born with a
Silver Spoon. But I have grown out of that now and I am now Aje Paki."
What sort of a person is Tolu Yesufu?
An Actor who has a passion for art and is dedicated to her
work and the growth of the industry. I've featured a few Nigerian actors in my
movies here. Some,I had to fly in and others just happened to be around before
we went on set and I cast them for the roles they played. Uncle Lanre Balogun
is my big brother anytime any day though. I roll with him and I respect and
admire him. Ruke Amata is another close friend of mine and a couple more."
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