Fella Makafui speaks on securing 'Aníkúlápò' movie role, acting in Yoruba

Popular Ghanaian actress Fela Makafui has revealed how she got a role in the popular Netflix-Nigerian series “Anikulapo: The Ghoul Awakens” and how she had to learn a language she knew nothing about; the Yoruba language.

In a lengthy social media post that captured the actress’ journey of actively learning the popular Nigerian language and experience on set, she wrote,

“Somewhere in 2024, I got a call from Mr. Quashigah saying a woman named Juliet Asante wanted to speak to me about a gig. A few minutes later she called, she said I’m pushing for Ghana to be part of ANIKULAPO, and I believe you can absolutely kill this role”

‘I’m not bothered about anything that happens outside my life’ – Fella Makafui asserts

She continued in her post expressing how surreal the moment felt, “At first I thought I was dreaming. This was someone I had never met or spoken to before. I was shocked especially because I’ve always wanted to work with Mr. Kunle. I even sent him a DM years ago (which he obviously didn’t see)” she said, sighting how she had made attempts to contact the director but to no avail.

She added, “The only thing she said was I know you can do it. They will call you. Make proud. It was a very brief conversation, but it meant everything. A few days later, I got a call from Mr. Kunle himself. He said, you’ll be speaking Yuroba. My heart skipped for a second because I have never even said “the” in Yuroba before, but I responded yes sir, I can do it.”

She said she was assigned a coach and went through numerous lessons, adding that the language was difficult to learn. She admitted that at one point, she almost gave up.

“They got me a coach, and we started lessons. I almost gave up because wow… the language was HARD. I woke up at dawn, constantly asking my coach for voice notes, listening to them everywhere I went. Literally everywhere.

“I told myself this had to be the most challenging role I’ve ever taken on but this was exactly the king of challenge I wanted” she explained, emphasizing how challenging it was to learn the language but pushed herself to keep going.”

Fast forward, she successfully starred in the movie and made a mark for herself, earning massive praise. The Aníkúlápò Series, one of the most popular African productions, is currently streaming on Netflix.

@fella_makafui

Somewhere in 2024, I got a call from Mr. Quashigah saying a woman named Juliet Asante wanted to speak to me about a gig. A few minutes later, she called. She said, “I’m pushing for Ghana to be part of ANIKULAPO, and I believe you can absolutely kill this role.” At first, I honestly thought I was dreaming. This was someone I had never met or spoken to before. I was shocked especially because I’ve always wanted to work with Mr. Kunle. I even sent him a DM years ago (which he obviously didn’t see 😂). The only thing she said was, “I know you can do it. They will call you. Make me proud.” It was a very brief conversation, but it meant everything. A few days later, I got a call from Mr. Kunle himself. He said, “You’ll be speaking Yoruba.” My heart skipped for a second because I have never even said “the” in Yoruba before 😭😂 But I responded, “Yes sir, I can do it.” They got me a coach, and we started lessons. I almost gave up because wow… the language was HARD. I woke up at dawn, constantly asking my coach for voice notes, listening to them everywhere I went. Literally everywhere. I told myself this had to be the most challenging role I’ve ever taken on but this was exactly the kind of challenge I wanted. Fast forward to shooting day. I got on set and everyone was so welcoming from my able director to the amazing cast and crew. They made me feel completely at home. I honestly didn’t even want to leave the set after I was done 🥹 Thank you, Juliet Asante,for mentioning my name in rooms I never imagined I’d be in. Thank you for believing in my talent. Thank you to my able director for your patience and guidance. It is truly an honor to be part of this masterpiece. And to my amazing fans,we’ve really come far. This is just the beginning . ANIKULAPO- A Ghoul awakens is now showing exclusively on NETFLIX.

♬ original sound - Fella Makafui