Interview with Olisa Odele for Chewing Gum

14 December 2016

 

You play Ola in Chewing Gum. For thosho’ve not seen the show, tell us a bit about him?

Ola is a Nigerian diva who has been living in London for ten years with his adoptive Irish parents. He's a quadruple threat: singer, dancer, fashion icon and full time "bad bitch". He's the life of any party and loves to be in the thick of the drama on the estate. Ola is very outspoken and is unapologetic for who he is and what he wants.

 

Ola’s a brilliantly over-the-top character. Is he fun to play?

Ola is so much fun to play, there is never a "normal" or dull day for me when filming. I always have a dramatic scene or a dance break to look forward to and, due to Ola being friends with everyone, I get to hang out with every cast member. Ola has a larger than life personality so I have to make bold performance choices. However, due to the truth and depth Michaela has grounded the character in, it feels justified and not superficial. Ola takes himself very seriously in his Lycra leggings and sequined tops.

 

How did you end up landing the role?

I met Michaela at an audition in 2014, we started talking and hit a vibe instantly. I had no clue that she was a writer and had never seen her perform. At the time she was in a play called "Home" at the national theatre with Kadiff Kirwan who had taught me three years prior on a free two-week community theatre course at his drama school. So I went to watch home and was blown away! After the show I stayed to congratulate Kadiff; Michaela came over and we chatted for ages. I had “no chill” and passionately declared that her performance had changed my life. A few weeks later she got in touch with my agent and I got invited to do a read of the Chewing Gum taster for channel 4. The show got commissioned but I had no clue if I would be in it so I went off to study acting at the University of Surrey. Nine months later my agent called and said they wanted me to come in audition for Ola. So I went in and got the job.

 

Ola has a very distinctive dress sense. Did you feel self-conscious, filming on the estate?

Yes, sometimes I did. I wasn’t on the estate much in series one but in series two I spent many days there. People had varied responses. Most people were too busy to care; some people stared; some people gave disapproving looks and others complimented my outfits. One time on our lunch break Michaela and I went off the estate in search of a McDonald's. I chucked a jacket on over my costume covering my top half. People were staring at me and I didn't know why and then I realised they were staring at my shiny animal print leggings.

 

Were you ever tempted to keep his outfit on and just go and hit the town?

Ola's fashion sense is quite different from mine. I'm quite full out when dancing in the clubs so I think wearing Ola's clothes would attract too much attention and make me unapproachable. You don't want to be that guy that's looking like the paid entertainment. I'm a big River Island skinny stretch jeans fan, they are great for big guys as they fit our thighs perfectly without giving that boot cut look.

 

Is the show as much fun to record as it looks?

It's more fun than it looks because people only see what we do in front of the camera. Each cast member brings a different energy and when we're all together it's a non-stop party but behind the scenes there is an amazing crew, full of vibrant characters that contribute so much to the vibe on set. The catering is lit! Full English every morning and loads of choices for lunch. Sometimes the filming isn’t the highlight of the day; sometimes it's the hilarious costume fitting in which you rip your leggings that fit 2 weeks ago because you've put on weight or an informative chat with the girls from make-up.

 

What’s it like working with Michaela?

For me it's like working with my big sister who happens to be my boss and a creative genius. She's honest and she pushes you but it's grounded in love and respect. We're great friends so we really enjoy filming together. Lunch times we'll go to her dressing room, put on music and dance for an hour. However, the work never stops and she is always wearing multiple hats, it's inspiring but exhausting to watch. One second she’s acting, the next she's having a meeting about a scene to be filmed next week, then she’s re-writing lines on the spot because she’s a perfectionist, then she has to run off for a costume and hair change for the next scene. It's intense!

 

You found fame when you were a small boy, in My Parents Are Aliens. What was that experience like?

It was mad but I loved it and wouldn't change it for the world. I was nine years old and had never done a professional acting job and went off to film in Leeds for 6 months. Half the week I was with family. The other half I was living with the older kids waking them up at 6am with my singing and getting involved in everyone’s business. I had to do tutoring for 3 hours a day in between filming scenes and just generally bouncing off the walls. I was having a whale of a time and I was far too excitable to understand the enormity of the production. I got to work with amazing people like Tony Gardner who is one of my favourite British actors. He is hard working, so intelligent and ridiculously creative. Most of my scenes were with him so watching him work taught me so much and he inspired me to become better.

 

After that finished, you completed your education. Did you know you always wanted to return to acting?

Yeah I think I did, but not always for the right reasons. After Aliens people would often ask me what my “next project” was and would be very dissatisfied when I responded with “GCSE Dance”. At 15 I felt like a failed actor with something to prove and much of my pursuit of acting at the time wasn't for the love it, it was to end the questions and be able to give a "worthy" response. When I was 16 I got into the Brit school and went to study musical theatre. It was the best two years of my life! I will always be grateful for the teachers there for believing in me (I was a challenging student to say the least). They never held it against me and helped me to find myself and rediscover my love for the arts. After Brit, I parted ways with musical theatre and decided to pursue acting as a career. Obviously I continue to sing and dance in preparation for the call up to join “Fifth Harmony” and take them to the next level.