Nollywood actor Deyemi Okanlawon has revealed that he temporarily walked away from acting in 2019 after becoming disillusioned with the industry’s poor remuneration and the quality of work available to him at the time.
Speaking during a recent appearance on the CreativiTea podcast, the award-winning actor said he reached a point where he no longer found satisfaction in his profession, prompting him to return to a conventional corporate job despite his passion for acting.
Okanlawon explained that his decision was driven by a combination of inadequate financial rewards and a growing sense of professional dissatisfaction.
According to him, he felt he had sacrificed the stability of a regular 9-to-5 career only to find himself doing work that failed to meet his expectations creatively or financially. The experience, he said, made it increasingly difficult to remain motivated and committed to the profession he once loved.
The actor disclosed that the frustration eventually became overwhelming, forcing him to step away from the film industry altogether. He noted that continuing in a career without a sense of fulfilment no longer made sense, leading him to seek stability outside Nollywood by returning to corporate employment until circumstances changed.
Recalling the period, Okanlawon said, “So, I quit acting in 2019. I quit because the pay and the work were nonsense. And I just felt like I didn’t leave 9-to-5 work to come and do mediocre work.”
He further explained that waking up each day to work on projects that neither inspired him nor provided adequate compensation became emotionally exhausting. According to the actor, passion alone was not enough to sustain a career when it was not matched by fulfilment or fair financial reward.
Although he exited the industry in 2019, Okanlawon’s break from acting was not permanent. He has since returned to Nollywood and rebuilt his career, establishing himself as one of the industry’s leading actors with appearances in numerous acclaimed film and television productions.
Today, the actor is widely recognised as one of Nollywood’s most respected screen stars.
