For Bolaji Ogunmola, building a career in Nollywood has meant more than waiting for the right audition or hoping for the next big role.
The actress, producer and filmmaker has gradually moved from auditioning for opportunities to creating them for herself, building a growing body of work while developing her own production platform.
In a recent conversation with Morayo Brown, Ogunmola reflected on the journey, her approach to filmmaking, her private life, dealing with criticism and the ambitious future she sees for herself.
From a young actress trying to find her place in the industry to a filmmaker already planning dozens of future projects, Ogunmola says one thing has remained constant: believing in herself and continuing to work.
From Auditions To Finding Her Place In Nollywood
Bolaji Ogunmola’s acting journey began long before she became known for her work on screen and behind the scenes. She has previously said she developed an interest in acting through her church’s drama unit before taking the career more seriously. She participated in the Next Movie Star reality show and later trained at Royal Arts Academy, where she gained further experience in acting and production.
Her early career, however, did not immediately take off. Ogunmola has recalled that after making her film debut in Okon Goes to School in 2013, she reached a point where she became discouraged by the lack of opportunities. She eventually stepped away from the industry before returning in 2016 after attending an acting workshop where filmmaker Biodun Stephen noticed her and cast her in Sobi’s Mystic. That experience became an important turning point.
Speaking to Morayo Brown, Ogunmola explained that the first step to building a career is believing that you belong on the path you have chosen. “You have to have absolute belief in yourself,” she said. For her, that belief has to remain strong even when other people say no or question whether someone has what it takes.
“The first thing I always say is that you ask God, am I meant to be on this path? And if you get that clarification, everything will work out,” she added.
Building Instead Of Waiting
One of the clearest changes in Ogunmola’s career is her move beyond acting into writing, producing and directing. Today, she is not simply waiting for someone to hand her the next role. She is developing stories and creating projects of her own.
Asked how she manages to write, direct and produce several projects while maintaining her acting career, Ogunmola revealed that much of it comes down to planning.
“I’m a very big planner,” she said.
Her level of preparation is reflected in how far ahead she works. Ogunmola told Brown that she already had about 20 films planned for the following year. She acknowledged that the work may look easy from the outside, but said it requires a strong team and a willingness to learn from mistakes.
“It is a lot of work and, you know, we’ll make mistakes, but the ability to just entertain, inspire, and create conversations on this work is just amazing,” she said.
For Ogunmola, however, mistakes are not really failures. She explained:
“I know I call them mistakes, but they are learning curve. Never a failure. It’s not a mistake. It’s a lesson, really.”
Learning To Stay In Her Own Lane
Success in the entertainment industry can easily come with pressure to keep up with everyone else. Ogunmola admitted that she once felt that pressure herself. There was a time when she worried about having to constantly produce more, do better than the next person and match what everyone else was doing. Her approach has since changed.
“I just focus on my lane, focus on the things I’m working on,” she said.
That shift appears to have become an important part of how she now approaches her career. Instead of measuring her progress against everyone else, she is concentrating on building something that can last.
Her recent work reflects that change. In May 2026, Ogunmola was among the cast and producers of Ajosepo 2: The Gathering, Kayode Kasum’s sequel to the 2024 film Ajosepo. The sequel returned to cinemas with Ogunmola playing Mary alongside Timini Egbuson and a large ensemble cast.
The film also added another layer to her growing work as a producer, showing the different sides of her career operating at the same time.
A Career Built On Collaboration
For Ogunmola, building her own path does not mean doing everything alone. She shared how she is particularly passionate about working with other women in the industry.
Her relationship with actress and filmmaker Biodun Stephen is one example. The dark-skinned actress revealed that Biodun Stephen gave her one of her first lead roles in Sobi’s Mystic in 2016. Years later, the two are collaborating again on a new cinema project alongside Blessing Nze, which Ogunmola said is scheduled for the first quarter of 2027.
She described the collaboration as a full-circle moment. The actress also pointed to Ginger as another example of what can happen when creatives come together.
The project was a story Ogunmola had conceived as far back as 2019. Although she had initially secured investors, she eventually decided that collaboration could help take the project further. She said:
“It’s not my film because, I mean, if I didn’t collaborate with them, it probably would not have gone as much.”
For her, collaboration is not simply about sharing credit. She explained:
“I’m very big on collaboration, especially with women.
If you want to go farther, you bring people along that have aligned goals as well.”
The Numbers Behind ‘My Housemate’
Ogunmola’s digital work has also given her another avenue to connect with audiences. One of the projects that recently caught attention was My Housemates, which she created after getting the opportunity to work with actor Baba Rex.
The project initially crossed three million views in six days and has since reached 5.5 million views on YouTube currently.
Interestingly, she says she does not view the numbers as something to celebrate without looking deeper. She explained that views alone do not tell the complete story because factors such as the location of viewers, advertising and seasonality all affect how successful a digital film can be commercially.
“Don’t be fooled with the numbers, really,” she said.
She identified the United States, United Kingdom, Canada and Spain among the markets that are particularly valuable to her content.
For Ogunmola, therefore, digital filmmaking is not simply about getting a large number on a screen. It is also about understanding the business behind those numbers. That business knowledge has become increasingly important as she expands from acting into production.
In a May 2026 interview, she also spoke about the high cost of making films, noting that even productions released on YouTube require significant investment in cast, locations, crew and post-production.
Learning Not To Explain Herself To Everyone
The public nature of entertainment means criticism comes with the job, and Ogunmola has had to learn how to handle it. She described herself as “very soft” and admitted that negative comments used to affect her.
Her instinct was often to explain herself whenever people misunderstood her intentions. She added that she has gradually realised that constant explanations do not necessarily change people’s minds. In her words:
“People will always talk. You can’t be right in front of people that want you to be wrong.”
The statement captures another change in her approach to fame. Rather than trying to convince everyone to understand her, she is learning to focus on her work and allow it to speak for itself.
Why She Keeps Her Love Life Private
While Ogunmola is increasingly open about her career, she remains much more guarded when it comes to her personal life. Asked directly whether there was someone in her life or whether she was choosing to remain single. Ogunmola’s answer was brief but revealing.
“I’m happy,” she said.
She then explained why she does not want to expose her partner or future partner to unnecessary public attention. “For me, it’s important that these people, my partner or my future partner, didn’t ask for this life. So, I feel it’s unfair for me to drag him into it,” she said. She added: “What people don’t know, they can’t hurt.”
Rather than making her relationship part of her public identity, Ogunmola appears determined to keep that part of her life for herself.
Her Formula: Audacity And Consistency
When asked what advice she would give people trying to move from where they are to where they want to be, Ogunmola returned to one of the principles that has shaped her own career: belief.
“First of all, have audacity like mad,” she said.
She warned against allowing other people’s opinions to become louder than one’s own belief in oneself. “You don’t have to look like it, but you can learn to be it,” she added.
But confidence alone, in her view, is not enough. Ogunmola believes consistency is what ultimately separates people who have potential from those who turn that potential into results. “Consistency is what changes the game,” she said.
Her message is that someone else may have more talent, but the person who continues showing up and working every day can still get further.
It is a philosophy that closely mirrors her own journey: after years of auditions, setbacks and gradual recognition, she has continued expanding the number of things she can do within the industry.
The 1,000-Film Dream
Perhaps the biggest revelation from the interview was just how ambitious Ogunmola’s long-term plans are. The actress revealed she wants to build the Ogunmola Company into much more than a production platform.
Over the next decade, she hopes to own a studio in Nigeria, inspired by what Tyler Perry has built in the United States. She said:
“I’ve seen Tyler Perry’s studio and I’m inspired to see that happen in Nigeria.”
But the studio is only part of the dream. Ogunmola also wants to make 1,000 films. She was careful to explain that the goal is not simply to produce a huge number of movies, but to build a lasting catalogue of quality work. In her words:
“Not because I’m just churning out rubbish, but those are catalogues of films that I have lived my youth working so hard to build.”
She also dreams of producing a Netflix original and seeing Nollywood films receive the kind of international reception Afrobeats has achieved. Her bigger ambition is to see Nigerian audiences and filmmakers think beyond the local market.
“It would be amazing to have a Nollywood film open in the US and people are lining up to watch it,” she said.
Conclusion
Bolaji Ogunmola’s story is no longer simply about becoming a successful actress. Her career has developed into something broader: acting, producing, directing, creating digital content, collaborating with other filmmakers and developing a company around her ideas.
Her journey began with auditions and the uncertainty that came with trying to find opportunities in Nollywood. More than a decade later, she is planning films years ahead, creating her own projects and thinking about the infrastructure she wants to build around Nigerian storytelling.
And if her biggest ambitions come to life, the actress who once waited for opportunities could eventually become the filmmaker creating them for an entire generation.
