Thespian Lateef Adedimeji says playing the lead actor in the soon-to-be-released biopics “Last Man Standing’’, which focuses on Sen. Bola Ahmed Tinubu, is scary.
He said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Tuesday.
NAN reports that Adedimeji’s performance as the lead character in several biopics like Ayinla and Ige has made him a veteran of sorts in making biopics.
“I really don’t know why I am always called upon to play these roles; this is going to be my fourth biopic. I did Ayinla, Ige, Strangers and now this.
“I believe it is the versatility and being able to key into other people and bring the character to life, that is you being an actor, studying other people and ensuring that you can drop you at a time you need to play them and bring them into reality,” he said.
The actor stressed that it was always scary playing a role when the person would sit and watch the movie and if the actors did not depict the character well, the person could say so.
“It is a lot of work, I had to be on YouTube studying his mannerism, the way he talks, the way he moves, smiles and all of that and try to replicate that, it is about forgetting yourself totally for the duration of the shooting,” he said.
Adedimeji further said that through research, he found out that Tinubu had a very good sense of humour.
“I have been watching him closely, I have even read and what is most important is seeing the person a few times. Then close your eyes and bring all you have read and heard about the person and let it flow naturally.
“Somehow, someway, you will key into it. That has been my pattern, from the way Asiwaju Tinubu talks slowly, picking his words one after the other and the way he drops his jokes.
“A lot of people won’t notice that he can be a comedian because he goes straight to the point, but if you pay attention, you will notice the comic quality in some of his words. I hope for the best with this production,’’ he said.