I Was Slapped For Real In Several Nollywood Movies – Opebe

Nollywood actor Yomi King, a.k.a Opebe, has opened up about some of his early lessons in the movie industry. He recently revealed that many of the beatings he received on set were actually not scripted but real.

Speaking during an interview on Behind The Fame Podcast, Opebe recalled some of his harsh experiences during filming that went far beyond acting.

Confirming that he took real beatings on camera just to entertain the viewers, the moviestar stated that it had to happen that way for people to connect to the story.

He disclosed that the late Baba Suwe never shied away from going that far to portray a character correctly, and several directors can testify.

“Those sufferings were beyond acting; they were real beatings.

That’s what they call acting, you have to do it well and real for people to know it truly happened.

Baba Suwe doesn’t mind. Anyone that knows him well knows he will beat you directly; ask the director,” he said.

Recounting a specific incident involving his colleagues Baba Suwe and Yinka Quadri, Opebe noted that they once had a serious argument during a shoot, and he took sides with Baba Suwe.

He recalled how another movie involved him getting slapped by Yinka Quadri, which led to the veteran actor hitting him hard as retaliation for his stance during his dispute with Baba Suwe.

Opebe concluded by saying that he has learnt to mind his business during Nollywood arguments since then.

“A sample happened in a year, I won’t say the name of my boss Yinka Quadri, I won’t mention his name.

They had a misunderstanding, real, I thought of it – that if I don’t support Baba Suwe, who would I support? Is it a stranger? I supported Baba Suwe in fighting Yinka Quadri.

If he passed, I would neglect him because we were all together in Lagos. He’s like a big brother to me in Lagos. We all grew up in Lagos, do you understand? He’s a big brother. I began to support Baba Suwe.

Baba Suwe had a job -PM used to call actors. We wanted to do a movie called Eku Meji and we would shoot it at Meiran. Meiran was like a village, Meiran at Ijaiye – it wasn’t civilized then.

That movie Eku Meji, I had a role with Yinka where he ought to fight me and beat me. And you know that Opebe is lame. And I and Yinka didn’t talk to each other. But when we got to the set, and it was a beating role, I had abused him earlier. When he replied me, it was a slap and a severe beating. I began to shout, ‘Cut! This isn’t a movie anymore.’ I was angry.m

He laughed and said, ‘In your life, you won’t interfere in people’s fights again.’ The person I supported -Baba Suwe- was laughing at me.

That day, I said to myself, ‘If you abuse each other, it’s none of my business.’ Since then, I know my boundaries,” he added.