Oludotun Baiyewu Jacobs, known to the world as Olu Jacobs, built one of the most remarkable careers in African cinema history — spanning British television, Hollywood adventure films, and more than 200 Nollywood productions over five decades. Trained at London’s Royal Academy of Drama Art, he became a bridge between international and Nigerian screen storytelling long before “Nollywood” was a household name.
Below is a countdown of ten defining film and television appearances from his career chosen to represent the different eras and genres he moved through.
10. The Witches and the Grinnygog (TV, 1983)
One of Jacobs’ notable Bri=sh television credits, produced by TVS. It came during a run of UK TV work in the late ’70s and early ’80s that also included appearances on The Professionals,
The Tomorrow People, Till Death Us Do Part, and The Goodies — the period that established
him in Bri=sh screen ac=ng before his interna=onal film breakout.
9. The Third Eye (TV series, 1990)
On returning to Nigeria in 1990, Jacobs starred as Inspector Best Idafa in this NTA (Nigerian Television Authority) detective series. It’s frequently cited as the project that reintroduced him to Nigerian audiences and set the stage for his Nollywood career.
8. Vigilante (1988)
A Nigerian crime drama directed by Adedeji Adesanya, with Jacobs playing “Chief.” The story follows Lagos residents turning to self-defense amid rising armed robbery — an early example of the socially-driven storytelling Jacobs would return to throughout his Nollywood career.
7. Pirates (1986)
Roman Polanski’s big-budget adventure-comedy, starring Walter Ma`hau. Jacobs played Boomako, rounding out a run of major interna=onal film credits in the mid-1980s.
6. Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend (1985)
A Touchstone Pictures (Disney) adventure film in which Jacobs played Colonel Nsogbu, opposite Patrick McGoohan. One of his most visible Hollywood credits.
5. The Dogs of War (1980)
Directed by John Irvin and based on Frederick Forsyth’s novel, starring Christopher Walken. Jacobs played a customs officer in this mercenary war drama — one of the earliest and most frequently cited interna=onal films of his career.
4. Dancing Heart (2006)
This performance won Jacobs the AMAA (Africa Movie Academy Award) for Best Actor in a Leading Role in 2007 — a marker of his standing as a drama lead in Nollywood’s golden era.
3. Adesuwa (2012)
A Lancelot Imasuen-directed historical drama in which Jacobs played Ezomo. The film won Best Nigerian Film at the AMAAs and is one of the strongest showcases of his work in Nigerian historical fiction.
2. Oloibiri (2015)
Jacobs played Timipre in this drama about the discovery and exploita=on of oil in the Niger
Delta — one of the most acclaimed later-career roles, tackling a defining issue in Nigerian
history.
1. The Royal Hibiscus Hotel (2017)
Playing Richard, Jacobs starred alongside his real-life wife Joke Silva in this romance comedy directed by Ishaya Bako — the first Nigerian film selected for the Toronto International Film Festival’s Contemporary World Cinema program. A fieng capstone to his filmography: a warm, internationally recognized Nollywood story ager a career built on bridging both
