Veteran Yoruba actor Yomi King, popularly known as Opebe, has recounted one of the most painful lessons he learned early in his acting career — after being beaten for real on a movie set.
Speaking on the Behind The Fame podcast on YouTube, the comic actor revealed that many of the beatings he received in his early days were not part of the script but actual blows from fellow actors during filming.
“Those sufferings were beyond acting; they were real beatings,” Opebe said in Yoruba, translated to English. “That’s what they call acting — you have to do it well and real for people to know it truly happened. Baba Suwe doesn’t mind. Anyone that knows him well knows he will beat you directly; ask the director.”
He recalled one particularly intense experience during the production of the Yoruba movie Eku Meji, which featured Baba Suwe and Yinka Quadri. According to Opebe, the tension on set stemmed from a real-life misunderstanding between the two senior actors.
“They had a disagreement, and I thought to myself — if I don’t support Baba Suwe, who will I support? He was like an elder brother to me in Lagos, so I stood by him,” he said.
However, when filming began, the scene required Yinka Quadri to beat him. Opebe said the fight quickly turned real.
“When we got to the set, and it was a beating scene, I had earlier insulted him in the movie. When he responded, it was a slap followed by serious beating. I started shouting, ‘Cut! This isn’t acting anymore!’”
He later realised that the beating was personal — Yinka was settling scores over Opebe’s decision to take sides in the earlier quarrel.
“He laughed and said, ‘In your life, you won’t interfere in people’s fights again,’” Opebe recalled. “The person I supported, Baba Suwe, was laughing at me. That day, I told myself, if two people are fighting, it’s none of my business. Since then, I’ve learned to know my boundaries.”
The actor’s story has since sparked conversations online about rivalry, loyalty, and the realities of working in the early days of the Yoruba film industry.