Antar Laniyan whose real name is Antar Babatunde Laniyan is a renowned Nigerian actor, producer and director.
He was born on the 26th of May, the year of his birth not known. This great actor was said to have derived his origin of his first name Antar from “Iguana”, also known as “Aworiwon” in Yoruba land which means he was named after the animal owing to mysterious circumstances that surrounded his birth.
It was after his mother took a concoction prepard by this Awariwon that he was born and this led to his mother naming him after the animal.
Education
Antar had his primary education and later at the Baptist secondary school in Lagos State before proceeding to the University of Ibadan where he bagged a Bachelor’s degree in Theatre Arts.
His Acting Career
Antar began his acting career even before gaining admission into the University in 1976 when he was in the secondary school.
He revealed that he was already fully involved in acting but his mentor, Ben Tomoloju then advised him to further his education into the University.
He joined Nollywood in 1981 under the mentorship of Pappy Ben. Antar also disclosed that he was nicknamed “Antar D Sangow” by his father when he showed him a picture of a role he played as the thunder god in a stage play in his institution. It was a movie written by Wale Ogunyemi and produced by Obafemi Lasode.
Since then, he has built on his skills and talents and has since produced a number of hit movies including Sango, ‘Everybody wants to know’, Moremi, The Man Who Never Died and Murder in the Cathedral.
Antar disclosed that he was greatly inspired into acting by a performance he watched during the 1977 Festival of Black Arts and Civilization (FESTAC 77).
He is creative, skillful and exceptionally talented Nollywood actor. He is good at interpreting movie roles and can as well accept any character in movies. People describe Antar as an icon and a pillar in the movie industry in Nigeria.
He revealed in an interview that his desire as an actor and director is to nurture the young up-coming actors to attain greatness in the movie industry, a project he claims is not optimally achieved now, owing to financial problems.
His Personal Life
Antar is happily married with two children, all boys. The actor also revealed that his children are entertainment-inclined. His wife is one of his strongest critics especially when he plays seductive roles in movies.
Role model
The actor sees Oga Bello and Jide Kosoko who began acting in the 1960s as his role models owing to their long years and relevance in the movie industry today.
His Net worth
Antar is an accomplished Nollywood actor, rated one of the richest and most influential with a net worth of about $3 million dollars.