Kunle Afolayan; biography, career, movies, net worth, awards

Kunle Afolayan is a Nigerian actor, producer and director who is the director of the epic Yoruba themed movie, Anikulapo. 

He has directed several cinema movies and is also in a contract with Netflix. He made his directorial debut in 2006 with a movie titled “Irapafa”, a Nigerian supernatural thriller which subsequently won the Africa Movie award for Best Film in an African Language followed by Anikulapo in 2022.

Profile details

Name: Kunle Afolayan

Born: 30th September, 1975

State of Origin: Kwara State, Nigeria

Education: New York Film Academy

Religion: Christianity

Career: Actor, Director

Marital status: Divorced

Biography

Kunle Afolayan was born on 30th September, 1975 in Ebute Metta, Lagos State but hails from Igbomina in Kwara State. He is of the Nigerian Yoruba tribe.

His father, Mr. Adeyemi Josiah Afolayan, fondly called “Ade Love” was a theatre and film director. Afolayan was raised alongside his other siblings, Gabriel, Moji, Aremu sand Anu Afolayan in Lagos. He has a degree in Economics and also attended the New York Film Academy.

Career

Kunle worked in the banking sector before going into full-time acting and film making.

He has so far directed movies sch as The Figurine, Araromire which was in the Yoruba and English languages and Phone Swap which featured Wale Ojo, Joke Silva, Nse Ikpe Etim and Chika Okpala.

The Figurine won five major awards in th African Film Academy and was successful in Nigerian movie theaters.

Afolayan is the CEO of Golden Effects Pictures, a Nigerian film and production company established in 2005. The company has covered films like Irapada, The Figurine, Phone Swap, 1st October, Roti, Omugwo, The Tribunal, The CEO and Mokalik.

He also signed a contract with Netflix in 2021 to make three feature films, including a screen adaptation of Sefi Atta’s book Swallow.

He and the writer drafted the script which reportedly has a major twist from the original story. The movie revolves around a woman who begins to consider going into drug trafficking in mid-’80s Lagos.

He produced Anikulapo in 2022 which became the most nominated movie at the 2023 Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards.

Controversy

On April 6th 2015, Kunle posted a tweet saying that the Igbos were the majority group behind copyright infringement in Nigeria.

The backlash and taunts from fans resulted to an apology from Kunle and an explanation that he was concerned about the piracy of his movies especially threats on the potential release of unauthorized copies of 1st October, his latest movie as at the time.

Personal Life

Kunle was married to Tolu Afolayan in 2007 and they had three beautiful children including; Diekoloreoluwa David Afolayan (son) and Darimisire Afolayan (son).

Their union dissolved in 2019 due to some irreconcilable differences. The actor sees himself as a free-thinker who is not bounded by any commitment.

Net Worth

Kunle has so far garnered a net worth of over $1.5 million from his career.

Awards

  • Public Choice Award in 2013.
  • Africa Movie Academy Award for Best Nigerian Film in 2014.
  • Best Feature Film Award at the Africa Magic Viewers Choice Awards.
  • Best Indigenous Language Yoruba movie(Anikulapo) at the Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards in 2023.
  • Best Overall Movie at the Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards in 2023.

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