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Big Age - Ronke Adékoluẹjo plays Ṣadé
Category: Press Pack ArticleCan you describe your character Ṣadé?
“I’d say that Ṣadé was very aware of her space in the world. She’s hyper aware of herself and what it means to be in her body, at her age in her generation. Desperate to carve out a space for herself that is authentic but also premeditated. I think she's a little impatient though, but in an endearing way. She’s a people pleaser who wants to make her parents proud; wants to make herself proud and make her friends proud. But because of this desire, she finds herself stretched in lots of different directions. I don’t think she’s that great at prioritising. But one thing that’s at the forefront of her mind is being a young woman in pursuit of love.”
Can you relate to her?
“I can relate to her in multiple ways, the most being a first generation daughter of two parents that literally upheaved their lives from Nigeria to come to the UK and start from nothing, to give their children the best possible opportunities. Superheroes. Like Ṣadé, I come from a very Yoruba household, but I was brought up in Essex, so I got the best of both worlds. Essex babe when I’m out and about with my mates, but as soon as I cross the threshold to the abode of Mojisola Adékoluẹjo, I had to come correct and very very respectful.”
What does the term Big Age mean to you?
“Aww Big Age! I think the saying is kind of like a comedic life mantra. For example, there are certain things you should know, at certain points in your life, but we all make mistakes, as we should. There’s often a lot of guilt when it comes to reflections, and you think ‘Oh my gosh, at my big age, I’m still making these mistakes, or I thought I would have been sorted by now.’ It’s still funny though, no one at any age really has it all together. You could be at your big age of 70 and still discovering things about yourself. That’s the beauty of life, right?”
Do you think the term adds a burden to young adults or is everyone aware that these external pressures aren’t necessary?
“Yes, I'd say it could add pressure, but then, having real acknowledgement that not many people have got this right beforehand; we should allow ourselves the time and space to be confused and get lost, and not have it all right here and right now. But yeah, I think I think that's a very universal thing. You know, everyone's always trying to get the ‘Should’s’ out of the way, you should have this, you should have that, you should be earning this much, you should have bought a house etc. Then everyone thinks, wait a minute, I did all of these should haves but was I ever really present? Was I ever searching for happiness within the shoulda’s?
I think what’s really fun about my generation is that we don't actually have to get to a certain age before we reflect. We're kind of like, wait a minute. No, this doesn't feel right. I'm at my big age and I should be able to say to my parents, ‘I don't want to do that.’”
Ṣadé is a millennial struggling to match her insecurities up against her ambitions at the age of twenty ‘thrive’. Do you think this could speak to a lot of young people today?
“I think a lot of people will relate to the show and it will mirror a lot of the pressures that young people go through? We exist in a generation where it's so easy, on social platforms, to almost be a part of other people's lives and get lost in them. It's amazing, because you've got these young adults, creating TV shows off their own accord. But at the same time, there’s added pressure on them having to keep up with the world, it’s crazy. I think a lot of people will be able to go, oh, wow, I see how that looks like me.”
Do you feel the pressures of social media?
“Well, I recently deleted a few social platforms from my life. I had a weird epiphany moment, where I realised, I was holding on to certain platforms for the fear of ‘if I'm not being seen, no one would know about me’ which is just not true. The people that really love and appreciate you in their lives, they’re the ones to check in on you or you check in on them. It's just strengthened a lot of my real-life relationships since deleting them. Also, at the beginning of this year, I just thought ‘I love reading books, I need to read more books.’ I realised that my thumb was immediately going on to various social platforms even if I didn’t really want to go there – so in the early days of just having deleted socials whenever my thumb went there, I’d pick up a book.”
Ṣadé has daily affirmations she repeats to herself, such as “I, Ṣadé Layode have it all. I am self-actualised and spiritually aligned with my ordained purpose in life.”
Are you someone that uses affirmations or is it something that you’ve been inspired by?
“I do use affirmations. I was taught from a very young age, there's power in the tongue. What you focus on grows, and so forth. I also read a book years ago called The Law of Divine Compensation by Marianne Williamson and other similar books to remind me that we’re apart of something bigger. A collective energy. These books offered me the opportunity to look beyond my ego. I mean, if you wouldn't say bad or negative things to people that you love, then why do we do that to ourselves? Sometimes it starts first thing in the morning, maybe we get up a bit late and we’re instantly annoyed with ourselves thinking ’I'm such an idiot’, or, ‘oh, gosh, I'm useless’. Really, we shouldn't be speaking to ourselves like that – we should speak as sweet to ourselves as we do to our friends and family.
A few years ago, I made an active choice, that I was going to start doing affirmations. I read another book that had loads of affirmations in it and it was amazing and then I read Think Like A Monk by Jay Shetty, where he talks about meditation which I took on board. So, I incorporate meditation and affirmations into my daily waking routine. But listen, sometimes that doesn't always happen! I’ll roll out of bed and go for a walk instead or gym, because the body says me first today lol.”
So you already sounded like you were quite prepared for playing Ṣadé, but are there particular ways you generally prepare for a role?
“Yes, I have a quite a thorough approach before playing characters, which would be way too long for me to even begin to divulge! One of the things I always like to have, is a song that makes me feel as close to the character as possible. And the song I had for Ṣadé is called Folasade by Bad Boy Timz which I came across by accident thanks to Apple music – it plays you songs that it thinks you’ll like. I was driving, the sun was shining, and this song started playing and I thought ‘oh my gosh, this is beautiful – this is Ṣadé’s song for sure.’
I listened to that song on the way to work every day and really just kept investigating the script and talking to Bolu as much as I could. Like, where do these characters stem from, I know it's a comedy, but it has to be authentic in a way where she is present with her choices and how she moves in the episode. Obviously, the pilot has to move quite quickly for our audience to fall in love with them. For me, it’s all about being thorough, authentic and honest. And knowing as much as you can.”
Had you read any of Bolu’s work beforehand?
“Oh my gosh, I am Bolu’s biggest fan – she’s my hero! When I got the offer, the timings clashed with a play that I was in and I was like nooooooo but thankfully, both productions managed to make it work – Of course, I would have watched it anyway but, if someone else played the part. Because it’s Bolu Babalola and I am her walking STAN ACCOUNT!”
Is there anything that you’d like viewers to take away from the programme?
“I think this programme can reach a wide demographic in terms of age, people and backgrounds. I think that I would want the audience to see themselves, ultimately to look at the show like it’s a mirror. Especially with what we're talking about with the social media stuff - people pretending that their lives, or at least they offer up a version of their lives is perfect. One thing that you get to see with Ṣadé, Dela, Zeke and Tayo and all the other characters is that they’re just trying to navigate it all in the best way that she can. I hope that it's comforting to our audiences knowing that you don't have to get it right, especially not the first time.”
And do you love Beyonce as much as Ṣadé does?
“I think Beyonce is incredible. Don't get me wrong. Whenever someone talks about work ethic. I think, listen, we all have the same 24 hours as Beyonce does, right? I think she rules the world. What would Beyonce do is a great rule to live by! Listen, when it comes to my Beyonce trivia, I can't lie, I’m not great!”
Have you got anything else coming up? Or what would you want to do?
“I have got a couple of things coming up, time keeps moving. To be honest, I want to play a superhero. Actually, I want to play a villain but with superpowers! I want to play Foxy Brown, Tomb raider, ALL OF THEM.
Other than that, season three of Alex Rider is starting in the winter and I have other film I start in a couple of weeks, but I don’t know if I can talk about that but coming soon. Haha.”