Thread: John Dumelo - Too Handsome To Stumble

When I met actor John Dumelo in town last Monday, I did not recognise him immediately. I had that familiar feeling that I knew him somewhere but could not pin point exactly where I knew him.

It certainly was not from TV although he had featured in many commercials nor was it in the various sitcoms and series he has played in. But my memory flooded like an open dam when he mentioned that he was the young boy of about seven years old who played Saka in the 1991 blockbuster film, Baby Thief.

That is the movie that told the story of a young woman who had her baby girl stolen at a hospital. After years of futile search, the woman was consoled when she had a second child, a son named Saka. After many years, the lost girl met her brother and eventually the family was re-united.

John Dumelo has come a long way since those years and has grown to become one of the upward-moving actors in Ghana today and believes that he has something significant to contribute to the development of movie making in Ghana.

John has been in love with acting since his primary schooldays at Christ the King International School in Accra. Prior to the making of Baby Thief by GAMA Film Company, the producers visited the school in search of pupils who would fit the roles. It happened that John and his elder sister who was also a pupil at the school were chosen for the roles. And they did a fantastic job to the admiration of the audiences.

Since then, he has featured in the series, Sun City and About To Wed, presented TV3’s game show Caesar’s House, appeared in The Perfect Picture, and The King is Mine and still going strong with other productions yet to be released.

Asked how he was managing stardom, John said that nothing much has changed and he continues to hang out with his friends, adding that “I find it rewarding when people appreciate me for my good performance, but that is an experience I want to make sure doesn’t interfere with my determination to go far in acting.

“You know some people can get carried away when fame and fortune knock on their door, making them lose focus of who they are and where they are coming from. I want to work hard to avoid that.”

Refusing to say how much fortune he has made from acting, he remarked that the money was good and was optimistic that the entertainment industry has bright prospects to support the economy.

“But not without hard work and the commitment to excel. Acting is hectic and challenging particularly on set where we can work from dawn to dusk; sometimes working till fatigue sets in. When the camera starts rolling there are no excuses; you have to be fit for the camera,” he said.

On what his favourite role is, John said he is comfortable playing any role provided the story is good plus an equally good director.

What about physical attraction when playing with beautiful actresses? John insisted that he has never been attracted to actresses on set as that could be detrimental to building a career. “I guess it would be unprofessional to be easily attracted to ladies on set, but I’m not saying that is impossible; I’ve not been in that situation yet,” he remarked.

John who is not married said he has a lady in his life and disclosed that he has been advised by friends to consider getting married soon to avoid being misled by his many admirers.

John was born 25 years ago to Mr John Dumelo and Antionette Dumelo, an assistant commissioner of CEPS. He is the last and only boy of three children. He had his secondary education at Achimota School and later the Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology where he read Civil Engineering.

At the moment, John manages a real estate company and partners an IT firm.

The staunch Catholic said he enjoys reading, playing snooker, classical and rap music. His liking for cooking once earned him the nick-name, ‘Kofi besia’.