Gabriel Afolayan reflects on creative bond with brother, Kunle Afolayan
Actor and singer Gabriel Afolayan has revealed his professional and personal relationship with his brother, filmmaker Kunle Afolayan, underscoring how their upbringing shaped their contributions to Nollywood. In an interview
Actor and singer Gabriel Afolayan has revealed his professional and personal relationship with his brother, filmmaker Kunle Afolayan, underscoring how their upbringing shaped their contributions to Nollywood.
In an interview on Channels Television, Afolayan recounted childhood memories of watching films together, an experience he said forged a lasting creative connection that now informs their collaborations on major productions such as ‘Anikulapo’.
“I can remember when we were much younger; he’s going to put me on his shoulder, we go and watch films together. So we’ve already had that filmic bond while growing up. And also, it translated pretty much well,” he said.
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“We love quality stuff, fundamentally. And we love ourselves, even though when we argue, it’s for a certain cause that’s going to set things right. So it was pretty easy to work with him. I think we got that niche from our dad, always wanting to do things right,” he added.
Afolayan described working on projects such as ‘Anikulapo’ as a large-scale undertaking that demands careful attention to narrative depth and character development, noting that the series explores weighty moral and societal themes.
“For a big-scale project like Anikulapo, you can’t be any better. The project itself calls for exactly what it gets at the moment, building set from scratch, having professional cinematographers, good technical people on grading, costumes, art design… everything has to be grand,” he said.
Explaining the transition from film to series, he said, “Because it’s a series now, it needs to extend, that’s the fundamental… You can’t journey through a singular plot.
“The stuff itself is called Anikulapo. Anikulapo is a title, it’s not a name. The next Anikulapo might be a much younger person. The protagonists are going to evolve. So it’s not going to be solely rested on a particular character.
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“Like, I said, it’s a title, Anikulapo, meaning the one with death in his pouch. Anybody who is able to bring people back to life or return from the dead can be Anikulapo. So it keeps going,” he said.
The actor also identified funding as a key challenge facing the Nigerian film industry, stating that budget constraints can compromise storytelling and execution.
Read Also: 2025 AMVCA: Gabriel Afolayan wins ‘Best Supporting Actor’
“The standard is here. The only thing now is the personality around those standards. Sometimes you can have a very good script, but because of budget, the expression, the storytelling will turn another way around.… People create good things, great stuff, good stories. But when it comes to execution, everything is still about the budget input,” he said
He emphasised the importance of good writing, layered characters, and personal values in filmmaking
“It’s the story. I’m a big fan of good stories, good writing, layered characters… It motivates me a lot. Filmmaking is still personal. What is your reason? Why are you in this field? Even though there are general rules, your own values influence the work… you wouldn’t want to disgrace yourself in front of the audience,” the actor concluded.
