Wale Ojo Almost Didn’t Land The Role In Kunle Afolayan’s ‘Phone Swap’
In 2012, Kunle Afolayan showed off his impressive range as a filmmaker when he went from directing the critically acclaimed thriller, The Figurine, to directing the critically acclaimed romantic comedy, Phone Swap.
Phone Swap – which followed two people from different walks of life who accidentally switch phones – rightfully earned Kunle Afolayan a legion of adoring fans and turned its lead, Wale Ojo, into a household name; as well as landing him his first AMAA nomination.
The performance that almost wasn’t
Well, as it turns out Wale Ojo almost didn’t get the part that solidified his leading man status. According to a 2011 audition clip Kunle Afolayan put up on Instagram over the weekend, he initially wasn’t impressed with Wale’s “delivery”.
According to the post, Wale noticed Kunle’s reaction and begged for time to perfect his audition. After spending two hours practicing, he returned and blew everyone way, landing the role alongside the luminous Nse Ikpe-Etim.
Praising Wale’s humility during the auditions, Kunle said:
“The point here is, Wale has been in the industry as a professional actor for more than 20 years before the shoot of Phone Swap.
He could have called my bluff after I told him I wasn’t impressed but he pleaded and asked for another chance.”
Well, we are glad he did. While there are reports that Kunle initially had his sights set on Jim Iyke or Joseph Benjamin, we are having a really hard time picturing anyone but Wale nailing the role of Akin, the arrogant and withdrawn business executive with a thoughtful streak.
You can watch the audition clip below – and gush over Wale and Nse’s palpable chemistry:
