Exquisite magazine got the opportunity to have an interview with Segilola Ogidan, a famous filmmaker, who was featured in The Olive season 2, let’s read up on her story!
EM- PLEASE TELL US ABOUT YOURSELF
My name is Segilola Ogidan and I am a filmmaker.
EM- HOW LONG HAVE YOU BEEN IN THE MOVIE INDUSTRY?
I have been in the industry for 15 years.
EM- WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO GO INTO IT?
I’ve always been interested in filmmaking, television production, creating stories, characters, and different worlds and delving deep into my imagination and actually making those a reality.
EM- TIPS ON HOW YOU STARTED AND WHAT KEPT YOU MOTIVATED?
I started by training and what keeps me motivated is seeing amazingly beautifully created pieces of work. Furthermore, I am massively motivated by the direction the industry is moving. I believe we’re on the cusp of greatness and I am fortunate or rather I feel fortunate to be part of this development, this growth and this time in the industry.
EM- YOU ARE A FORCE TO RECKON WITH IN THE SOCIETY, HOW DID YOU GROW TO THIS LEVEL?
I’ve been doing this for a while, starting with my education, and training as an actor, I have a master’s in Cinema Studies and a BA in Media Arts and I’ve worked for internationally renowned film production, sales and distribution companies in the UK. I’ve also run a production company out of the UK for the past ten years. I have acted in several shows and films and it has been a gradual process, gradual growth and that’s essentially what has propelled me to this level.
EM- THE LONG AWAITED OLIVE SEASON 2 PREMIER IS HERE, TELL US A BIT OF WHAT TO EXPECT.
Yes, it is and I am so excited about it. In this season you can expect to be completely and absolutely thrilled. There’s a lot of suspense there is a lot of drama and there’s a lot of secrets that come up to the surface and it just delves deeper into Anayo and his family’s drama.
Ehi’s secrets of her past life come to the forefront and it just basically paints this entirely different character to the person you were introduced to in season one which shows you that a lot of people paint a particular picture of themselves and that’s not necessarily always true so yeah it’s dramatic it’s thrilling it’s salacious in parts and it’s suspenseful.
EM- A SNEAK PEAK OF WHAT TO EXPECT ON YOUR ROLE IN THE OLIVE SEASON 2
Well, my character is taken on a very intense dramatic journey in her relationship. She has to deal with potential betrayal from her husband as well as the inability to have children which takes her into a dark mental space. That’s all I can say you have to watch it to find out more.
EM- HOW EASY WAS IT TO FIT INTO THE ROLE YOU WERE GIVEN?
Playing someone much older than I am is never always easy you have to go into a totally different state of mind and come up with life experiences that your character might have gone through for you to be able to fully create this wholesome widely experienced character, but once I was able to do that then it was second nature.
EM- HOW DO YOU MANAGE YOUR FAMILY LIFE AND WORK LIFE AS AN ACTRESS/CELEBRITY?
My family is my priority so I never feel like I have to manage that aspect of my life. This makes it easy for me to divide my time so if I feel that whatever I need to do outside of my family is not really going to serve me in the long run, I just don’t get involved.
EM- WHAT CHALLENGES DID YOU FACE STARTING UP IN THE MOVIE INDUSTRY?
I started my career in the UK and at the time the big challenge was being a black female in the movie industry. It wasn’t easy, there weren’t many roles for black females so I had to basically start creating my own roles for myself and that was essentially what propelled me into script writing and then further pushed me into starting my own production company and that was essentially where I started properly with my film Mum, Dad Meet Sam, the TV series I Just Got Back, movie Love Prevails and then recently Tainted Canvas which is streaming on Amazon Prime and A Romantic Comedy Featuring Lara and Tobi that was recently acquired by Gravel Road Media in South Africa. These were titles that I produced under my UK company.
As an actor, I had to form relationships with producers and present myself as a business before I could be given roles as an actor. It wasn’t enough to just be talented, I had to be intentional as well and business savvy.
EM: IF YOU HAD THE CHANCE TO START YOUR CAREER OVER AGAIN, WHAT WOULD YOU DO DIFFERENTLY?
I probably would have just stuck to acting and not necessarily go into production and sales and distribution but I don’t regret the route I took. I believe God took me on this journey the way it has played out for a purpose and I feel that purpose was primarily to ground me so that I could then focus on God’s calling for my life.
EM- IF YOU WERE TO WRITE A BOOK ABOUT YOURSELF WHAT WOULD BE THE TITLE?
Segilola Ogidan: A Biography.
EM- PLEASE KINDLY SHARE SOME OF YOUR SECRETS TO BECOMING SUCCESSFUL IN YOUR INDUSTRY WITH EM.
I honestly don’t have any secrets per say, I would just say know what you’re after and be the best at what you do. Master your craft and keep focused but I would say most importantly always remember why you’re doing what you’re doing because that is essentially the driving force for you to keep going.
EM- WHAT ADVICE WILL YOU GIVE TO YOUTHS WITH THE ZEAL TO GROW IN THE MOVIE INDUSTRY?
Put in the work and stay in your lane!!! Don’t get distracted and most importantly think of how you can make a lasting impact not focusing on instant gratification or instant success, those do not last.
EM- PLEASE SHARE THE CONTACT DETAILS YOU WISH TO BE MADE PUBLIC
You can follow me on Instagram @segilolaogidan
