The roles that actors are assigned require them to make certain sacrifices and endure some physical pain and discomfort. Most of the time, agony lasts for a split second or a day, but in the case of Toyin Abraham, her suffering continued for more than two months.
Toyin Abraham had to don lengthy, bulky dreadlocks for her upcoming film, Ijakumo (The Born Again Stripper), which she had to keep on for more than two months. She posted a few times about it on Instagram. She stated, “I had this hair for nearly two months for IJAKUMO, it wasn’t easy but I’m delighted that I reached my goal,” in one statement, and, “To my folks asking how I managed the hair, sometimes I wrap it around my waist or have someone to hold it for me,” in another. It wasn’t easy, but we praise God for it.
Now in a new interview with Business Day, Toyin Abraham is talking a lot more about why she had to carry the hair for over 2 months as well as how she was able to survive carrying so much hair around. Here is what Toyin Abraham had to say.
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During her interview with Business Day, Toyin Abraham was asked “In the movie you play the character Dada Awuru who carries a long dreadlock on her head, and there is a clip of the making of the movie showing you moving around with the hair as one of your assistants help you hold the hair. How difficult was it to keep that appearance and for how long?” She responded:
It wasn’t easy, I was tired, I have a passion for acting that makes me live through the pain and the stress that comes with it. This is a movie I saw in my dream and that was the inspiration for the hair and the make-up. The character is a dada (a person born with dreadlocks) and due to some circumstances, she didn’t cut her hair for over 20 years. We shot for two months and before we started shooting I was asked to do the hair which I did two weeks before my birthday. So I kept that hair on my head and sometimes wrapped it around my body for 10 weeks. I had difficulties using the bathroom (she laughs) and also on set when it gets in contact with water and having my assistant haul the hair around for me. But I’m happy I achieved my goal despite all the discomfort. It was worth every bit of it.