Tope Tedela: Background, Career, Full Bio

If you thought you have seen Tope Tedela on TV, you are right, it was him. If you thought he was the star of some big screen, you are right; that was him. And if you thought his voice is one you have heard before on radio, doubt not, that was him: A star on cinema, on TV, and a king of the airwave. Here’s everything you need to know about the star of “A Soldier’s Story”.

Tope Tedela: Background and the beginning of stardom

Tope Tedela was born in Lagos on June 5 in a year he would not reveal nor would the media expose. Tope, the first child of his parents attended Lagos State Model College, Meiran, Lagos for his secondary education before proceeding to the University of Lagos where he obtained a Bachelors’s degree in Mass Communication (now Journalism in some Nigerian tertiary institutions).

As the first child in a family of four siblings, Tope started taking responsibility early; he began climbing the ladder of entertainment success as an undergraduate when he appeared as Julian in the family TV series “Edge of Paradise” which was directed by legendary director Greg Odutayo. He also worked as an OAP for Unilag FM. The fame cloud started gathering while he was still a student and kept interfering with his studies so much, he much he had to press a firm pause on acting while he finished and graduated from school.

Tope Christopher Tedela is from Ekiti State.

Tope Tedela: Career

After his graduation from the university in 2012, he took acting classes at Film Factory in Lagos and that same year, he picked the acting baton again and appeared in various stage productions. In his first leading role in a feature film “A Mile from Home,” Tope played the role of Lala a university student with an identity crisis who joins a notorious gang to get revenge. The film bagged nominations in two categories at the 2nd Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards. He won the best actor in a drama. The movie also won the 2014 Africa Movie Academy Award for Achievement in Visual Effect. This could prove to be the breakthrough point in his career.

Tope Tedela’s acting career having been rewarded early on with the AMVCA award in 2014 for his lead role performance in the film “A Mile From Home” directed by Eric Aghimien and released in June 2013, many expected a blast of shows from him. It seemed, however, that this award wasn’t the door opener for him as he was reported to have said to Ebuka’s Channels “Rubbin Minds” that he was still drinking garri (the symbol of being broke) after winning the award.

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Then 2015 happened.

In 2015, he joined the cast of “A Soldiers Story” as Major Egan married the character played by Adesua Etomi-Wellington. The film also stars Linda Ejiofor. Tope began to land more screen time as a result of impeccable delivery of lines and perfect character interpretation. He also played the role of Dayo in the Nigerian gangster thriller film “Out of Luck” alongside Femi Branch.

In 2016, he appeared in the comedy film “Suru L’ere” as Kyle Stevens Adedoyin. The film tells the story of a young graduate trainee, who is a serial debtor, desperately eager to get ahead. Some many Nigerians top talent appeared in the film like Enyinna Nwigwe, Kenneth Okolie, and Beverly Naya. Tope also starred in “Ojukoro” a crime-heist comedy film.

One of Tope’s most outstanding roles was in Africa Magic “Jemeji” where he played the role of a crooked corps member who usurped power in a village by claiming to be the king’s long-dead son. It is a powerful show full of strategies, death, and sorrow, and also has Agharese Emokpae, Akin Lewis, Ayoola Ayolola, Buchi Franklin, and Mercy Johnson in the cast. Tina Mba made a late appearance in the show and set everywhere ablaze.

In 2017, Tedela became a producer. He produced a movie that premiered in the cinemas in September 2017 titled “What Lies Within”. The film was director by Vanessa Nzediegwu and written by Paul Utomi who all starred in the film alongside Tedela himself with a small role, Michelle Dede starred in the lead. Ebele Okaro, Ken Erics, Yaw, and Okey Uzoeshi were parts of the cast list.

In 2019, he starred as researcher Dr. Dauda in “The Lost Okoroshi”.which had its world premiere at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival and received mostly positive reviews. Tope also has television credit roles in “Super Story” as Omujuwa in 2008 and Tai in 2013. In 2020, Tedela was cast in Netflix’s first Nigerian original series helmed by award-winning director Akin Omotoso. He is an actor who has everything going on perfectly for him or so it seems.

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Tedela is also a music writer but has confessed to being too hard on himself hence his inability to gather the courage to release any of his songs. He, however, mentioned that he would be releasing something someday. We wait.

Married?

Most times Tope Tedela’s marital profile seems complicated but when views in a closer look, it is not. There have been reports that the actor is married to actress Rosaline Muerer after a wedding picture of the duo was shared online. But it appeared that it was from a project they were involved with.

This was made more believable by the fact the actor had disclosed that he doesn’t have a problem marrying an actor. “I have no issues marrying anywhere or anybody. I will marry an actress in this life and in the next life. It’s not necessarily about the profession but about the person. If I find an actress who I think we are compatible and we can live together for the rest of our lives, I will definitely get married to her. Right now I am just focusing in my career.’ he told Nollywood gist.

But the actor seems not to be interested in marriage at the moment as he has described it as a distraction. “Everyone to his own, whatever rocks your boat you are free to enjoy. We all make our choices and deal with the outcome. As for me, I am not ready for marriage or baby mamas,’’ he told informationnigeria. Whenever Tope Tedela is ready to settle down, we will be the first to tell you.

Image source: Nigeria Movie Database