“How I dumped law for Mass Com before going into acting” – Actress Teniola Aladese

• In a recent podcast episode, the movie star revealed her initial aspirations to become a lawyer.

• Actress Teniola, inspired by Christopher Darden’s book on the OJ Simpson case, decided acting as her new plan after law was no longer an option.

Nigerian actress Teniola Aladese has disclosed her reasons for pursuing a career in acting.

During a recent episode of the WithChude podcast, the actress shared that her original aspiration was to become a lawyer. However, after reading a book by Christopher Darden, who was one of the prosecutors in the notorious OJ Simpson trial, she experienced a shift in her ambitions. With the legal profession no longer appealing, Teniola opted for her alternative path—acting.

She expressed that her childhood admiration for Nigerian film icons Genevieve Nnaji and Regina Askia greatly influenced her decision.

“To be honest, I am not sure that I knew I wanted to act up until SS2. I wanted to be a lawyer at first and then I read this book by Christopher Darden, he was one of the prosecutors on the OJ Simpson’s case.”

“He just chronicled the entire case, I finished this book and I said I am not cut out to be a lawyer. First of all I do not know what I would do if I lost a case for a client and I saw the point of view of these two lawyers and how they felt about loosing the case.

“So I was like what else can I do? My plan B was that I kind of like acting, I used to watch films especially Genevieve and Regina Askia. But it was now in SS2 that I was like, I am not sure if I want to go to school to study acting just in case it does not work out for me. What else can I study?

“And I was like my plan B is to be a news anchor and that was why I studied Mass Communication. I asked my parents and they were like if I wanted to study Theater Arts, I should. But I was like just in case, let me just study Mass Com and I would try acting.”

Teniola commenced her professional journey as a movie production manager prior to transitioning into a full-time acting career.

The actress rose to prominence for her performance in the African Magic drama series ‘Jemeji.’

Additionally, she received the Trailblazer award at the 2022 Africa Magic Viewers Choice Awards (AMVCA).