Laide Adeyiga’s love affair with acting began long before she stepped onto a set. Growing up in Ipaja, Lagos, she would gather her siblings and re-enact scenes from Nollywood films, slipping into characters as though she had been born for them. By the time she was a teenager, she knew this wasn’t just a passing hobby but her true calling.
Determined to sharpen her gift, she enrolled at Lagos State University to study Theatre Arts. There, she didn’t just earn a degree; she learned the discipline of a craft, how to project her voice to fill a theatre, dig deep into the soul of a character, understand scripts with precision, and think like both an artist and a businesswoman.
Her professional debut came in 2014 at the Muson Centre in a stage play titled Echoes from the Lagoon. She played Comfort in a small cast of five, and though she admits she was nervous, the moment the spotlight hit, everything clicked, and she was ready to give her all.
But the path forward wasn’t glamorous or easy. Long auditions, constant rejections, and days without enough money for transport to get to a shoot tested her resolve, and moments of self-doubt began to creep in. A turning point came when the late director Rotimi Raji encouraged her to explore Yoruba Nollywood and personally introduced her to filmmaker AbiodunJimoh. Those first roles became the floodgate that opened her to an industry that would later know her name.
Since then, Laide has featured in more than 45 productions, from Itura and Rumour Has It to Picture Perfect, Soólè, and Flatus. Along the way, she has worked alongside some of the industry’s finest, Bimbo Ademoye, Biodun Stephen, James Omokwe, Damilola Oni, Afeez Owo, and Paul Bogunmbe, while collecting awards such as the Emperor Award, the BON Award, and the Scream Award.
Still, acting alone wasn’t enough. She turned to film production, determined to tell the kinds of stories she felt were missing, stories that are rooted in truth, social relevance, and empathy.
That drive is at the heart of her latest project, Baasi Eran, released July 2024, the movie is born from a striking observation of how quickly society judges people without knowing their inner battles.
The film follows Sophie, a woman hungry for more in life and career. With her husband’s support, she begins to rise, but ambition soon tilts into greed, and the consequences are heavy. “At its core,” Laide says, “it’s about choices, redemption, and staying grounded when life starts opening doors for you.”
Bringing Baasi Eran to life took patience and precision. It’s financing required persistence, casting was done with intent, and shooting across multiple locations meant battling weather and logistics. But Laide was deliberate about building a team that connected deeply with the story rather than simply chasing big names, a decision she believes brought the magic on set.
The result is a film as honest as it is memorable, one that lingers long after the credits roll. Early reviews and social media reactions have been glowing, and Laide now has her eyes on festival submissions and both local and international distribution.
Through it all, her philosophy has stayed the same: consistency over shortcuts. “Talent is important,” she says, “but without discipline and consistency, it won’t take you far. My advice to young actors and producers is simple: do the work, stay humble, and keep learning.”
Off set, she draws balance from her family, close friends, and the unwavering support of her mother, the same woman who encouraged her to study Theatre Arts and pursue her dream. The journey has not been without personal cost; she’s candid about losing relationships over the roles she plays, yet remains unwilling to compromise her craft.
Looking ahead, Laide is developing a romantic drama, a limited series, and dreams of collaborating with international filmmakers. Whether local or global, her mission remains the same: to tell stories that change perspectives, uplift people, and create space for the next generation, especially young women.
“I want my legacy to be one of impact,” she says. “If my work can make people see the world differently, then I’ve done my job.”
Laide’s journey is not the ordinary path of a Nollywood filmmaker; it is a study in patience, precision, and persistence. From the set of Baasi Eran, her directorial debut, to the way she carries her storytelling, you can already sense she is not here to merely entertain but she is here to shift the culture.
Her career is still young, yet her work already bears the stamp of intention. For example, Baasi Eran is raw, deliberate, and unafraid to stare too long at the uncomfortable truths most filmmakers cut away from. She doesn’t flinch. Instead, she compels her audience to look deeper, to stay in the discomfort until they find meaning. That is cinema.
It is this refusal to compromise that makes Laide stand out in a saturated industry. While others chase the quick applause of box office returns, she is quietly building a filmography that will be remembered long after the noise fades. Every frame feels like it belongs to someone who knows exactly what they want to say and how they want it to be heard.
For years, Nollywood has struggled with stories that rush to entertain but rarely pause to breathe and give meaning. Too often, characters are rushed sketches, not full humans deep in emotions. However, Laide disrupts this pattern. She insists on patience, on building characters layer by layer, on giving silence as much weight as dialogue.
This is why her work matters. It is not simply about telling stories, it is about redefining how stories are told.
Laide is not just another filmmaker adding to Nollywood’s vast catalogue, she is a reminder of what cinema should do; reflect life honestly and move us to question it. She proves that the future of African cinema doesn’t lie in imitation but in intention. And perhaps her greatest achievement is this,she makes us believe again that film, at its best, is not just watched, but lived.
Laide Adeyiga’s love affair with acting began long before she stepped onto a set. Growing up in Ipaja, Lagos, she would gather her siblings and re-enact scenes from Nollywood films, slipping into characters as though she had been born for them. By the time she was a teenager, she knew this wasn’t just a passing hobby but her true calling.
Determined to sharpen her gift, she enrolled at Lagos State University to study Theatre Arts. There, she didn’t just earn a degree; she learned the discipline of a craft, how to project her voice to fill a theatre, dig deep into the soul of a character, understand scripts with precision, and think like both an artist and a businesswoman.
Her professional debut came in 2014 at the Muson Centre in a stage play titled Echoes from the Lagoon. She played Comfort in a small cast of five, and though she admits she was nervous, the moment the spotlight hit, everything clicked, and she was ready to give her all.
But the path forward wasn’t glamorous or easy. Long auditions, constant rejections, and days without enough money for transport to get to a shoot tested her resolve, and moments of self-doubt began to creep in. A turning point came when the late director Rotimi Raji encouraged her to explore Yoruba Nollywood and personally introduced her to filmmaker AbiodunJimoh. Those first roles became the floodgate that opened her to an industry that would later know her name.
Since then, Laide has featured in more than 45 productions, from Itura and Rumour Has It to Picture Perfect, Soólè, and Flatus. Along the way, she has worked alongside some of the industry’s finest, Bimbo Ademoye, Biodun Stephen, James Omokwe, Damilola Oni, Afeez Owo, and Paul Bogunmbe, while collecting awards such as the Emperor Award, the BON Award, and the Scream Award.
Still, acting alone wasn’t enough. She turned to film production, determined to tell the kinds of stories she felt were missing, stories that are rooted in truth, social relevance, and empathy.
That drive is at the heart of her latest project, Baasi Eran, released July 2024, the movie is born from a striking observation of how quickly society judges people without knowing their inner battles.
The film follows Sophie, a woman hungry for more in life and career. With her husband’s support, she begins to rise, but ambition soon tilts into greed, and the consequences are heavy. “At its core,” Laide says, “it’s about choices, redemption, and staying grounded when life starts opening doors for you.”
Bringing Baasi Eran to life took patience and precision. It’s financing required persistence, casting was done with intent, and shooting across multiple locations meant battling weather and logistics. But Laide was deliberate about building a team that connected deeply with the story rather than simply chasing big names, a decision she believes brought the magic on set.
The result is a film as honest as it is memorable, one that lingers long after the credits roll. Early reviews and social media reactions have been glowing, and Laide now has her eyes on festival submissions and both local and international distribution.
Through it all, her philosophy has stayed the same: consistency over shortcuts. “Talent is important,” she says, “but without discipline and consistency, it won’t take you far. My advice to young actors and producers is simple: do the work, stay humble, and keep learning.”
Off set, she draws balance from her family, close friends, and the unwavering support of her mother, the same woman who encouraged her to study Theatre Arts and pursue her dream. The journey has not been without personal cost; she’s candid about losing relationships over the roles she plays, yet remains unwilling to compromise her craft.
Looking ahead, Laide is developing a romantic drama, a limited series, and dreams of collaborating with international filmmakers. Whether local or global, her mission remains the same: to tell stories that change perspectives, uplift people, and create space for the next generation, especially young women.
“I want my legacy to be one of impact,” she says. “If my work can make people see the world differently, then I’ve done my job.”
Laide’s journey is not the ordinary path of a Nollywood filmmaker; it is a study in patience, precision, and persistence. From the set of Baasi Eran, her directorial debut, to the way she carries her storytelling, you can already sense she is not here to merely entertain but she is here to shift the culture.
Her career is still young, yet her work already bears the stamp of intention. For example, Baasi Eran is raw, deliberate, and unafraid to stare too long at the uncomfortable truths most filmmakers cut away from. She doesn’t flinch. Instead, she compels her audience to look deeper, to stay in the discomfort until they find meaning. That is cinema.
It is this refusal to compromise that makes Laide stand out in a saturated industry. While others chase the quick applause of box office returns, she is quietly building a filmography that will be remembered long after the noise fades. Every frame feels like it belongs to someone who knows exactly what they want to say and how they want it to be heard.
For years, Nollywood has struggled with stories that rush to entertain but rarely pause to breathe and give meaning. Too often, characters are rushed sketches, not full humans deep in emotions. However, Laide disrupts this pattern. She insists on patience, on building characters layer by layer, on giving silence as much weight as dialogue.
This is why her work matters. It is not simply about telling stories, it is about redefining how stories are told.
Laide is not just another filmmaker adding to Nollywood’s vast catalogue, she is a reminder of what cinema should do; reflect life honestly and move us to question it. She proves that the future of African cinema doesn’t lie in imitation but in intention. And perhaps her greatest achievement is this,she makes us believe again that film, at its best, is not just watched, but lived.
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