Veteran Nollywood actor Yemi Solade has opened up about an interesting gap in his decades-long career, despite sharing an industry with Funke Akindele for years, he says he has never been invited to feature in one of the actress and filmmaker’s productions.
The 66-year-old actor made the revelation during an appearance on Bae U’s Curiosity Made Me Ask podcast, which was released on August 29, 2026. When asked about his working relationship with Akindele, Solade gave a surprisingly simple explanation.
According to the veteran actor, Akindele has simply never called him.
The exchange caught attention because both actors have spent years building impressive careers in Nollywood, particularly within the Yoruba film space.
Solade has been acting since his teenage years and has repeatedly spoken about his long journey in the industry. In 2025, he recalled beginning his professional acting career at 17 and said he had already been acting for 48 years at the time.
Akindele, meanwhile, has grown from an actress best known for Jenifa into one of Nollywood’s most prominent producers and filmmakers, with major projects including Omo Ghetto: The Saga, Battle on Buka Street and A Tribe Called Judah.
So, considering the number of productions Akindele has been involved with, Solade’s comment naturally raises eyebrows.
But there was no indication from his comments that the situation was the result of a feud between the two actors.
Instead, his explanation was straightforward: he simply has not received the call.
Solade’s career stretches back far beyond the era of streaming platforms and big-budget Nollywood productions.
He has previously explained that his acting journey began on stage and that he trained under Professor Wole Soyinka at the then University of Ife. His career has since covered theatre, television and film.
The actor has also been vocal about the history of Nigerian cinema, arguing that the foundations of what became Nollywood were laid by several generations of Nigerian performers and filmmakers long before the industry adopted its current identity.
In a 2025 interview, he pointed to Yoruba theatre and early filmmakers as an important part of that history, while insisting that the contributions of those pioneers should not be forgotten.
That makes his latest revelation particularly interesting. After spending decades working across Nigeria’s entertainment industry, there is apparently still one major producer whose set he has not found himself on.
It would be easy for a statement like this to become another celebrity controversy, but Solade did not present it that way.
There was no accusation that Akindele deliberately ignored him, nor did he suggest there was bad blood between them. He simply answered a question about their professional relationship.
And perhaps that is what makes the story interesting.
Nollywood has become an industry where casting can often bring together actors from completely different generations and backgrounds. Veteran performers regularly appear alongside younger stars, while established filmmakers continue to bring familiar faces into new projects.
Yet Solade and Akindele appear to have missed that professional intersection in Akindele’s own productions.
Interestingly, the two have appeared in the same film before, meaning the claim should not be read as saying they have never shared a screen. The distinction is that Solade was referring to not having worked in Akindele’s productions.
For an actor with a career spanning almost five decades, that is certainly an unusual gap.
And now that Solade has said it publicly, the question is whether that phone call might finally come.
What do you think? Should Funke Akindele bring Yemi Solade into one of her next productions? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.