Olu Jacobs built the kind of career that makes a seven-film list feel almost unfair. He worked in British theatre and television, appeared in international productions, then became one of the defining actors of Nollywood. He died on September 16, 2026, at 84, closing a career that stretched across more than five decades. His family confirmed the death, while tributes from across Nigeria’s film industry recalled the range and authority he brought to screen acting.
The best way to revisit that career is through films that show different versions of Jacobs. Some take us back to his international screen work. Others show why audiences came to trust him with kings, fathers, elders and men carrying complicated histories. For younger audiences, they offer a direct route into Jacobs.
- Ashanti (1979)
Before Nollywood had taken shape, Jacobs was already appearing in international cinema. In Richard Fleischer’s Ashanti, he played Commissioner Batak alongside Michael Caine and Omar Sharif. It is one of the earliest films in his documented screen career and a useful reminder that his international journey started long before Nigerian audiences made him a household name.
2. The Dogs of War (1980)
A year later, Jacobs appeared in The Dogs of War, playing a customs officer in John Irvin’s political action drama. The film belongs to the period when Jacobs was building a substantial career in British and international productions. Watching it now offers a different perspective on the actor Nigerians would later know for his commanding presence in Nollywood.
3. Pirates (1986)
Pirates gave Jacobs another international role as Boomako in the adventure film directed by Roman Polanski. It arrived during the same early period of his screen career and places him within a cast built around a large-scale European production. Together with Ashanti and The Dogs of War, it shows how comfortable Jacobs was working outside the Nigerian industry long before his later Nollywood dominance.
4. Adesuwa (2012)
By the time Adesuwa arrived, Jacobs was fully established as one of Nigerian cinema’s recognisable veterans. He played Ezomo in Lancelot Imasuen’s historical drama, which was set in Benin and explored the life of a young woman caught in a story shaped by power, tradition and desire. The film received 10 Africa Movie Academy Award nominations and won three, including Best Nigerian Film.
5. Dry (2015)
Stephanie Linus’ Dry gave Jacobs a smaller but significant role as a Speaker in a film centred on child marriage and its consequences. It is another example of Jacobs taking on roles where his authority could carry weight without requiring him to dominate the entire story. The film later won Best Overall Movie at the 2016 Africa Magic Viewers’ Choice Awards.
6. Oloibiri (2015)
In Oloibiri, Jacobs played Timipre, an educated man whose personal history is tied to the consequences of oil exploration in the Niger Delta. The role put him inside a story about exploitation, community and the cost of decisions made decades earlier. Jacobs was nominated for Best Supporting Actor at the 2017 Africa Movie Academy Awards for the performance.
7. The Royal Hibiscus Hotel (2017)
One of his later memorable appearances came in The Royal Hibiscus Hotel, where Jacobs played Richard opposite his wife, Joke Silva. The romantic comedy gave audiences another side of the actor, moving away from some of the heavier authority figures associated with his career. The film also screened at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2017.
These seven films cannot contain a career that stretched across more than 200 credited screen appearances. They can, though, show why Olu Jacobs remained so familiar across generations. From international films to Nigerian historical dramas, social stories and romantic comedy, his screen presence kept changing while his craft remained recognisable. That is what makes these films worth revisiting. They do not tell the whole story of Olu Jacobs, but they give audiences seven different places to begin remembering it.
