By Arafat Ayofe
Wale Ojo, a British Nigerian actor, director, and producer, was born in London, England on 9th September 1968.
Ojo started acting professionally as a child at the age of 8, he worked with Akin Lewis, who played a barber on the NTA Ibadan 1980s television series ‘Why Worry’’.
He became a child star working mainly on drama series and television soaps with Africa’s first television station, WNTV IBADAN.
At age 12, he moved with his family to England, where he also attended university.
He subsequently continued acting roles in the UK and Nigeria. He came into prominence in 1995 for his role in The Hard Case.
Ojo founded New Nigeria Cinema, whose aim is to improve the quality of Nigerian films and hosted a film viewing and lectures at the British Film Institute in London in 2010.
He won the award for Best Actor at the 2012 Nigeria Entertainment Awards for this leading role in Phone Swap, and has been featuring in several movies ever since, such as, A Song from the Dark Love, Lust & Other Things, Inside Life, Heist, This Lady Called Life, Walking with Shadows, Kasanova, and Half of a Yellow Sun
Wale Ojo, also won the Best Lead Actor award at the 10th Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards (AMVCA) 2024.
His compelling performance in the drama ‘Breath of Life’ earned him the prestigious award ahead of other actors.
Ojo credits his career on influences from his mother, who was an actress and supportive of his career, Chief Wale Ogunyemi, Tunji Oyelana, playwright, Wole Soyinka, and Zulu Sofola. Recall that in 2012, the ‘Phone Swap star had an interview in a televised program where he said he was relocating from the United Kingdom to Nigeria to find his missing rib. However, the 55-year-old Nollywood trailblazer is yet to be hitched and does not have a child.
