Femi Branch is one of the most recognisable faces on TV, and one of the most accomplished actors working in both Yoruba and English films. Recently, he thrilled his fans with his interpretation of his role as the unfriendly, sinister-looking widower Deji Bello in ELTV’s Desperate Housewives Africa. Are you a fan of his? Here are 7 things you may find interesting:
1. His father wanted him to become a lawyer and he had settled for that career path until he got to university and discovered drama. The year he gained admission, JAMB had cancelled the English papers, so Obafemi Awolowo University offered him provisional admission to the department of Religious Studies with an option to switch to Law in his second year when the JAMB issue had been resolved. Instead, he switched to Theatre Arts.
2. His first performance was a Chuck Mike play staged at Obafemi Awolowo University, Eniyan.
3. He produces and directs most of his productions under the umbrella of his company, Branch Studios. He got into production early, thanks to his entrepreneurial talent. In 1993 and 1994, he and his friends packaged plays for the Shell Petroleum Staff Club, earning some cool cash while still undergraduates. These plays were his first major stage productions.
4. He has a musical side. During his NYSC in Kwara State, he served with his half-brother’s church where he was the choir leader and also coordinator of the music department. He was also part of the team of parishioners in the entertainment industry who presented a nativity musical drama at House on the Rock’s Christmas Carol Service in December 2015.
5. He never auditioned for the MTN commercial “Dance With Me” that brought him to limelight in 2005 (I can still remember how my heart melted when she said “they’re playing our song” and he beamed that smile!). He was running a small modelling agency at the time and the advertising company handling the TVC asked him to end in some models for casting. It turned out they needed someone a bit more mature and not classically handsome, and when they couldn’t find any, they decided to use him as a stand-in. They loved the results, as did the client. And Nigerians, eventually!
6. He proposed to his wife, Ibitola, at his grandmother’s funeral. They have two children, Nuella and Nathan Branch.
7. He is the author of The Femi Branch Chronicles — KUNME, a collection of three of his stage plays and 50 of his poems.
You can watch Femi Branch’s latest movie, Out of Luck, on ELTV, Saturday, August 13th at 9pm.