Dolapo Oni: My greatest fear is not trying hard enough

Dolapo Marcy Oni is a TV presenter and actress. Her face will be familiar to MNET viewers on 53 Extra magazine show and as a co-host on Ebonylife TV’s Moments with Mo. Now, she is producing and presenting her own innovative TV talk show, The Marcy Project.

She is also an actress with several TV drama series and theatre productions to her credit. She landed her first movie role as the lead in a movie titled Diary of Lagos Girl alongside Nollywood veteran Liz Benson and other major talents such as OC Ukeje, Alex Ekubo and Linda Ejiofor. Dolapo spoke to TheCable about her new movie, talk show, TV drama and shared some personal stories of her journey.

What is Diary of a Lagos Girl about?
So Diary of a Lagos Girl is my very first movie, which was shot in January 2015. It’s basically the story of a Lagos girl whose ‘eye’ is a little too big and has her priorities a little bit mixed. The thing is, she is actually God-fearing but at the same time her whole thing is about bagging what I would say is an unrealistic man.

You know how some women want their man to be a pastor and a doctor and a mechanic and a billionaire all rolled into one. Sometimes, it’s something slightly unrealistic. So she is sort of letting her materialistic values get in the way of being true to herself.

It’s also about her search of finding the right guy and you’ll see in the movie that a lot of guys she goes on dates turn out not to be right for her. Then it’s narrowed down two main guys and the question is, who is she going to choose?

Was it trying to depict a typical ‘Lagos girl’?
The title of the movie is just a play on words and I don’t think it’s to suggest that this is what a typical Lagos girl is like because people are not the same. So I would say the movie is about ‘a’ Lagos girl who happens to be born and raised in Lagos and this is a journey. I, myself, live in Lagos and I am a girl so I am a Lagos girl too but my values might just be different from the next girl’s.

Isn’t there any part of you that identifies with the character?
No, not really. But I mean I am an ambitious person and I strive for success; that’s my thing. I’ve always been brought up to have your own stuff, so I’ve never really looked to be with someone because of what they have. I want to be able to compliment them in the relationship..

What’s the weirdest date you’ve been on?
The weirdest date I’ve been on is when I had a guy cook for me before and the meal was horrible. Like it was really bad and the setting was actually quite nice because it was in a restaurant and the funny thing is the guy was a chef. I couldn’t understand why the food was so bad. I couldn’t eat it. I just sort of ate a little bit then made an excuse that I wasn’t hungry and left the food there. That was the last date and I never saw him ever again.

How is the Marcy Project going?
The show is going well. I am very happy and proud of myself because I’ve always wanted my own show, but now I felt that the timing was right. For me, it’s quite amazing to watch knowing that you know the ins and outs of the whole thing. When you’re working for someone else, you do your research and deliver your lines etc but in this case I am involved with everyone and every single detail about the show. The feedback is good and I’ve been getting some constructive criticism.

What inspired the Marcy Project?

The title came before the actual show. So after the title, I thought about what I could do apart from just sitting down and interviewing guests because a lot of people don’t really get to know or see my personality. Normally, when you are interviewing someone, it’s not about you but the person. There is only so much of your personality you can inject or else what’s the point of having someone on the show. So I thought would could I do to show more and push myself out of my comfort zone?

How about the desperate housewives gig, how is that going?
The reception has been great because I know a lot of people do watch it. I guess what was expected when you’re doing a show like that in Nigeria, which is a remake of an American TV show, is for people to say that why are we copying and why can’t we do our own thing? But a lot of people are actually watching it and the response has been quite fantastic. One thing people don’t know is that Disney is very involved with the show and there is a Turkish version, Argentine version and other versions across the world and they all have to follow a certain format. You have to have those four principal characters with those personalities. It’s in collaboration with Disney so they also have a say in how it’s produced.

When was the toughest period of your career?
The toughest period of my career was when I was still living in the UK and I was in first year out of drama school, which was in 2005. They tell you in drama school that only 10 percent of you are going to get work and the remaining 90 percent are going to be unemployed. And you always think, of course that’s not going to be me in the 90 per cent. Basically, I couldn’t find a job for a whole year and it was really tough because you start to think if you made the right life decisions or if people are right about the entertainment business being not a real job.

I woke one day and I told my parents that I was moving back to Nigeria and they weren’t really convinced but I moved back a month later anyways and it was a blessing for me because that same week, I got my first job on 53 Extra with Africa Magic.

However, as great and rosy as that sounds, I had come to Nigeria two years prior for five months to see what it was like and I went everywhere to different TV Channels and I just couldn’t find any work. This time around, when I decided to move back, I was more prepared but the way it happened was that I was helping a friend do a red carpet show and a friend saw me and said that they have auditions at MNET. I went in for it and I was chosen.

What are you scared of most?
I am afraid of not giving my all because sometimes, you might believe that you might try something and it’s not going to work out. Sometimes you might let fear get in the way of things you want to do and then not give it your all or you might decide you don’t want to put yourself out there because you are afraid of what people would think or say. So, for me, one of my greatest fears is not trying hard enough.