"I cried bitterly, thinking I was a failed actor when a popular actress blamed a producer for casting me in a movie," actor Gaji reveals.

Renowned Yoruba Nollywood actor Sola Olaibi, popularly known as Gaji, has opened up about one of the most painful moments of his acting career.

In a recent interview on Kunle Afod’s YouTube channel, Gaji shared how a marketer’s rejection of his performance in a movie scene left him emotionally devastated and made him question his talent.

According to him, the incident happened while he was on Kunle Afod’s movie set in Igando. A role had been assigned to another actor, but since the person had not arrived, Afod asked Gaji to step in. Confident in his skills, he took on the role and performed alongside seasoned actors, Odunlade Adekola and Baba Alapini.

However, things took a turn when the marketer in charge of the project arrived and asked about the scene. Upon learning that Gaji had played the role, she became upset and insisted that the scene be reshot with the originally cast actor.

“This broke my heart so much that I cried,” Gaji recalled. “I lost confidence and kept asking myself, ‘Am I really that bad?’”

The veteran actor, who has been in the Yoruba film industry for years, admitted that while he has faced many challenges in his career, this particular rejection was one of the most painful. Despite the director and his fellow actors approving his performance, being dismissed in such a manner deeply affected his self-esteem.