Veteran Nigerian actor discipline: Adebayo Salami rejects sex-for-roles trend, urges professionalism, and says discipline shaped his six-decade film career

Veteran Nigerian actor Adebayo Salami, popularly known as Oga Bello, has reaffirmed his stance on professionalism and discipline in the film industry.

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Speaking to The Nation, he dismissed the notion of actresses offering sex for roles. “I will not even leave the chance for you to come and meet me or talk to me about it,” he said. “I’m a disciplined director, I’m a disciplined producer, and I won’t do it.”

Salami, who began his acting journey in 1964 at just 12, said he has never witnessed such proposals personally but acknowledged it happens in today’s era.

He lamented the drop in work ethics, particularly punctuality, among modern actors. “The discipline in our days is quite different from this,” he noted, adding that certain excuses wouldn’t have been tolerated in his time.

To uphold standards, he still practices double casting in his productions. “Even if you are playing the lead, I would say leave my set,” Salami asserted.

He also reflected on working with his son, Femi Adebayo, recalling a scene that required Femi to slap him. “I told him, ‘God save you if you had not slapped me, I would have slapped you after the shooting,’” he joked.

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Salami spoke about his new film Her Excellency, which explores themes of jealousy and the pressures of power in marriage. After 60 years in the industry, he said he has no plans to retire. “If you do, the talent will haunt you,” he added.