In his new memoir, Transformed, actor/model Remi Adeleke tells an unconventional, yet true story of his path from Nigeria to the Bronx to Hollywood.
What We Know:
- The 36-year-old went from being royalty to selling drugs in the Bronx and then to the Navy and is now an actor. His father, a Nigerian prince, died when Adeleke was only five years old. He primarily grew up in the Bronx with his mother and brother. His book goes into detail about how he was pulled into the street life and started drug dealing and hustling sneakers, according to The Grio.
- Adeleke’s father was a wealthy engineer and the government stripped him of everything he owned. “The government decided that his most valuable assets were no longer his, and they stripped them from him. So we went from rich to poor,” he said in an interview with Fox Business. His mom gathered their belongings and went back to America.
- His memoir provides insight on how he overcame his criminal past and joined the Navy. After many bumps in the road, he finally finds his way with religion and a stable family life. “Growing up in the Bronx, we didn’t have a lot of access. Especially with the education system. My mom was a teacher in the south Bronx. My mom really had to do a lot of work to push and fight against the odds that we were facing,” Adeleke said in the interview.
- After a bad drug deal, Adeleke decided to turn his life around when he was 19. However, there were a few obstacles he needed to overcome before he could reach his goal of being a Navy SEAL. After joining the special-operations forces and the Navy’s elite SEAL team, Adeleke received a call to work on the filming of Transformers.
He now lives in California with his wife and three boys.
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