His dreams suddenly appear within reach when a prestigious scholarship to the most exclusive school in the country catapults him into the affluent world of Nigeria’s elite. Here, he faces several obstacles, including a huge secret that threatens Ishaya’s newfound status and, ultimately, his family’s safety.
The show’s cast includes Mike Afolarin, Elma Mbadiwe, Gbubemi Ejeye, Bolanle Ninalowo, Richard Mofe-Damijo, Femi Branch, Genoveva Umeh, Olumide Oworu, Bucci Franklin, Emeka Nwagbaraocha, and Adesua Etomi-Wellington.
In this Pulse exclusive, we chat with three of the stars of Netflix’s first Nigerian young adult series: Afolarin, who plays Ishaya, Ejeye (Adufe) and Ninalowo (Oga Rambo). They dive into their different roles, share their reactions to the script, their challenges and more.
The interview is edited for length and clarity.
On learning about ‘Far From Home’ and landing the role
Micheal Afolarin: It was pretty similar to Gbubemi’s. The only difference is that I didn’t send in an audition tape when I saw the poster because I was busy filming. So, my schedule was really tight. When I was ready to send in the audition tape, the deadline had elapsed. But they still needed some people. A friend of mine who was on the casting team reached out and asked me to send in my headshot. Then they sent me the side. I sent in the tape and went through auditions, auditions, auditions and we are here.
Gbubemi Ejeye: There was a poster asking for actors to send in monologues. I did, but I was scared. I was like “Let me just try.” I sent it in, got called back, and did about 3 or 4 auditions. Sha, I got it.
Bolanle Ninalowo: For me, I think the producers had a clear picture of what they wanted from me. So they brought me in and told me I was going to play a character named Oga Rambo, and they gave me the character’s Bible. And I’m like, “Hey, it’s what I like to do. Let’s do it.”
On reactions to the script
Mike: I was excited to read the script and meet the colourful characters. I didn’t know that I would play Ishaya Bello when I read the script. I thought I would be Frank. I was ecstatic and elated when I found out I was the lead. Thinking about it right now, I was meant to be Ishaya Bello.
Gbubemi: I was just like, “Who are these stupid people? Why are you thinking like this? What is your problem?” Well, that makes it interesting because humans are all unique and different. Everybody thinks differently, and it shows. And the characters are really relatable.
On becoming their characters
Mike: I had a short time to prepare, but I have a friend that is like Ishaya in my head. He is an artist. He plays football and is from the streets. So, I just basically used his template. I went to his Instagram a couple of times to look at how he does his thing. I met up with him. I told him, “Yo, I am playing a character, and I’m using you as like the template.” That was part of my preparation process. But I also wanted Ishaya to be unique in itself because Ishaya is not just one person. Ishaya is all of us. There’s an Ishaya in everybody with dreams, everybody trying to make sense of life. So, I had to represent many people in him. It was a lot of feeling my way through the character and staying true to the essence of the scene that I was playing.
Gbubemi: I had a little challenge because Adufe is an Isale Eko babe, and I am not that like that. I don’t know how to be razz. I frequented Lagos Island a lot to see how they behave. It was a little bit of a stretch. It’s interesting to me because Gbubemi wouldn’t act like her. I don’t agree with all of her choices because it’s too much. But that’s life actually. I’m imaginative. I would really like to try extreme stuff. Acting allows me to do things I would never do otherwise. Besides that, she was really interesting and I’m glad we got there.
Bolanle: For me, it was just like wearing a costume. Over the years, I have kind of mastered that ‘Makanaki’ thing that people call me. It’s something I created with grace and with time. It just worked. Thank God.
On similarities to their characters
Mike: We are dream chasers as well as creatives. We always look for ways to achieve whatever we want to achieve.
Gbubemi: My character, Adufe, is a badass and a fine woman who goes for what she wants. A strong woman. I think I’m like that too.
Bolanle: I think the similarity between myself and Rambo is the stubborn factor. I’m a go-getter, and, I don’t back down. So I think there’s a little bit of me in him.
Mike: We had to shut down a particular section of Isale Eko, and that was pretty difficult if you know Lagos. We had to have security on ground. It was busy. It was a madness. Most times we shot on the weekends, mostly on Sundays when the market wasn’t really busy, but it was still a madness. It was difficult to stay sane, focus on the shoots with the intense weather and everything. Running around Isale Eko trying to sell my art was challenging. Nigeria is hot. I had like 17 takes with him (Rambo) threatening my life with a wild animal, which was quite challenging. So, running around, doing multiple takes, and shooting in intense weather wasn’t really fun. But somehow we got through it, and we made magic.
Bolanle: The most challenging part for me was basically with her (Adufe) because she went through some shit with me. I’m very intense, especially when I really like what I’m doing, and I feel like this is about to take me to the next level, so, I need to go 100. I look at her, and she is always ready. For every take I did, it was the same intensity. She was smacked if she had to smack. There was no faking it.
Mike: For me, everything was a hit back-to-back, because it’s just a blessing when you’re working with your friends. We had fun moments in the scenes and behind the scenes, so it’s very difficult to pick a favorite moment or a favorite scene that we worked on. I enjoyed him (Rambo) torturing me. It was fun because, for me, it didn’t feel like work because this guy’s breathing down my neck and it is real. He was very easy to work with, as was everybody on the project.
Gbubemi: There was an interesting scene that I can’t talk about without giving it away. When you watch it, you will get it.
Netflix’s ‘Far From Home’ is currently streaming.
