Tayo Faniran

Tayo Faniran
Faniran in 2025
Born
Akintayo Faniran

(1986-03-18) 18 March 1986 (age 40)
Ilora, Oyo State, Nigeria
EducationStars Maritime Academyt
Occupations
  • Actor
  • model
  • television personality
Years active2008–present
Known forBig Brother Africa: Hotshots
Gangs of Lagos
The Fire and the Moth

Akintayo "Tayo" Faniran is a Nigerian actor and former model. He was the runner-up in the ninth season of the reality television programme Big Brother Africa in 2014, and has since appeared in films including Gangs of Lagos (2023) and Labake Olododo (2025), and played the lead role in The Fire and the Moth (2025).

Early life and education

Faniran was born and raised in Ilora, Oyo State, where he attended First Baptist Primary School, Olivet Baptist High School and Sped International High School. He studied at Stars Maritime Academy, graduating as a midshipman of the Nigerian merchant navy with a Higher National Diploma in shipping management and logistics. He has said he chose maritime training partly for its paramilitary character, while already intending to pursue a career in entertainment.

Career

Modelling and Big Brother Africa

Faniran moved to South Africa in 2008 and worked there as a professional model. In 2014 he represented Nigeria in Big Brother Africa: Hotshots, the programme's ninth season. He reached the final on 7 December 2014 and finished as first runner-up. Coverage of the season described him as one of its more controversial housemates, noting frequent disputes with other contestants. In 2021 Faniran publicly questioned the outcome of the final and asked the show's organisers for an explanation.

Television and film

In August 2015 Faniran joined the Africa Magic soap opera Tinsel in the temporary role of Soji. He returned to South Africa later in 2015 and continued modelling there. He appeared in Descent, a crime drama shot in Johannesburg and directed by Awal Abdulfatai Rahmat, which opened in Nigerian cinemas on 1 December 2017.

Faniran moved back to Nigeria in October 2019 to concentrate on acting. In 2020 he was part of the ensemble cast of Who's the Boss, Chinaza Onuzo's directorial debut for Inkblot Productions, which opened in cinemas on 28 February 2020.

In 2023 he played Nino, a gang enforcer who becomes a guardian figure to the protagonist, in Jáde Osiberu's crime film Gangs of Lagos, released on Amazon Prime Video. That year he also played Victor, the fiancé of the bride at the centre of the story, in Mercy Aigbe's family drama Ada Omo Daddy, which was later released on Netflix. He appeared as Jaiyeoba in Iyabo Ojo's Yoruba-language epic Labake Olododo (2025).

He joined the cast of the second season of Kunle Afolayan's Netflix series Aníkúlápó: Rise of the Spectre, which premiered on 30 January 2026.

Faniran played the lead role of Saba, a smuggler carrying a stolen Ife bronze head, in Taiwo Egunjobi's crime thriller The Fire and the Moth. The film was selected for the 2025 NollywoodWeek Film Festival in Paris and was released on Prime Video on 3 June 2025. Egunjobi said he cast Faniran partly because he wanted an actor without strong associations from earlier roles, and because of Faniran's personal connection to the film's south-western Nigerian setting. The character had been written as a talkative, charismatic trickster, but Faniran played him as reserved and emotionally repressed, an interpretation the director said gave the film a more intimate focus. Reviewing the film for Afrocritik, the critic described his performance as a mostly solid lead.

Production

Faniran produced the film Man Like Jimmy, which was released on the streaming service IbakaTV. He is a co-producer, through his company Tayo Faniran Films and Entertainment, of Bodija, a crime drama limited series directed by Egunjobi and produced with Sable Media Productions, in which he also stars. As of August 2026 the series had no announced release date. Faniran has said the series has four episodes and that he funded it himself.

Filmography

Film

YearTitleRoleNotesRef.
2017Descent
2020Who's the Boss
2023Gangs of LagosNino
2023Ada Omo DaddyVictor
2025Labake OlododoJaiyeoba
2025The Fire and the MothSabaLead role

Television

YearTitleRoleNotesRef.
2014Big Brother Africa: HotshotsHimselfRunner-up
2015TinselSojiTemporary role
2026Aníkúlápó: Rise of the SpectreAshiru[citation needed]Season 2; Netflix
TBABodijaLimited series; also co-producer

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Big Brother Hotshots: Nigeria's Tayo Comes in 2nd as Tanzania's Idris Wins the BBA Title". BellaNaija. 8 December 2014. Retrieved 23 October 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 "Idris is the ultimate Hotshot". The Nation. Blantyre. Retrieved 23 October 2026.
  3. 1 2 3 ""The Fire and the Moth" Review: Taiwo Egunjobi Has Grown in Confidence as a Filmmaker". Afrocritik. Retrieved 23 October 2026.
  4. 1 2 3 4 Thomas-Odia, Ijeoma. "Tayo Faniran: I'm a born model". The Guardian. Lagos. Retrieved 23 October 2026.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Olaode, Funke (21 May 2023). "Remarkable Second Shot at Fame". ThisDay. Retrieved 23 October 2026.
  6. ↑ Emeadi, Agatha (30 June 2024). "My parents actually wanted me to be medical or veterinary doctor – Tayo Faniran". The Sun. Lagos. Retrieved 23 October 2026.
  7. ↑ "'I was robbed of victory 7 years ago' — Tayo Faniran hits Big Brother Africa". TheCable Lifestyle. Retrieved 23 October 2026.
  8. 1 2 "Tayo Faniran to Temporarily Replace Gbenro Ajibade on Tinsel". BellaNaija. 17 August 2015. Retrieved 23 October 2026.
  9. 1 2 "Zack Orji, Tayo Faniran, Matt Stern, others star new movie". Nigerian Tribune. Retrieved 23 October 2026.
  10. ↑ "Who is the Boss?". ThisDay. 11 January 2020. Retrieved 23 October 2026.
  11. 1 2 "Inkblot Productions Unveils Official Teaser for 12th Film "Who's The Boss"". BellaNaija. January 2020. Retrieved 23 October 2026.
  12. 1 2 Lacey, Liam (5 April 2023). "Gangs of Lagos: A Street Opera From the Mean Streets of Nigeria". Original Cin. Retrieved 23 October 2026.
  13. 1 2 "The 10 Best Nollywood Movies to Watch on Netflix (October 2025)". Zikoko. Retrieved 23 October 2026.
  14. 1 2 "'Labake Olododo' Review: Stranger Facial Hair, Longer Incantations, Thinner Stories". What Kept Me Up. Retrieved 23 October 2026.
  15. 1 2 "Kunle Afolayan announces release date for Anikulapo season 2". Premium Times. Retrieved 23 October 2026.
  16. ↑ "NollywoodWeek 2025 Unveils Official Selection". Nollywire. Retrieved 23 October 2026.
  17. ↑ "Nemsia Studios Releases The Fire and The Moth Globally on Prime Video". ThisDay. 3 June 2025. Retrieved 23 October 2026.
  18. ↑ "Taiwo Egunjobi Talks Thrillers, Collaboration, and Tayo Faniran's Unconventional Performance in "The Fire and the Moth"". The Nollywood Reporter. Retrieved 23 October 2026.
  19. ↑ "Out Of Africa: Taiwo Egunjobi Talks … The Fire And The Moth". The British Blacklist. 22 June 2025. Retrieved 23 October 2026.
  20. 1 2 "Our Most Anticipated Nigerian Titles of 2026". What Kept Me Up. Retrieved 23 October 2026.
  21. ↑ "Nollywood Distilled: The Stories That Mattered This Week". What Kept Me Up. 9 August 2026. Retrieved 23 October 2026.
  22. ↑ Davies, Gift (5 October 2026). "Tayo Faniran says Nollywood awards are rigged, industry driven by nepotism and favouritism". Pulse Nigeria. Retrieved 23 October 2026.