Bannerman who was a student of NAFTI at the time had chanced upon Dontoh and persuaded him to play the lead role, as the intended person had not showed up during shooting.

The film's assessment panel, especially Mike Hagan, recognised Dontoh's potential in theatre and drama and highlighted this to the young Alex Bannerman.

Subsequently, Dontoh's acting potential became more noticed when he played the lead role in Gus: The Theatre Cat, a short stage adaptation of a poem by T. S. Eliot.

Ɔbra started off as Keteke, a small theatre production first aired on Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) to rival Osofo Dadzie.

In Ɔbra, Dontoh starred alongside legendary Ghanaian actors like Grace Omaboe (Maame Dokono), Joe Eyison (Station Master), Amankwaa Ampofo, Esi Kom, Belinda Oku (Adwoa Smart), among others.

At this time, Ɔbra was in direct competition with Osofo Dadzie, a rival theatre production which also aired during primetime on Sunday evenings immediately after Talking Point.

Later on, Dontoh teamed up with Grace Omaboe (Maame Dokono) to host By The Fire Side, a folklore and storytelling programme which was very popular back in the 90s and beyond.

From an early age, the young David Dontoh took a keen interest in science, geography, history, literature, poetry, philosophy, classical and contemporary art, among others.

Originally, Dontoh had wanted to pursue a career either as a doctor or a pilot but fell short of the required admission grades after his Sixth Form exams.

Interestingly, doctors found the botched surgical job so expertly done that they felt compelled to leave the stitches in place until the wound completely healed.

He initially worked with his father for eight years at APPLE (Association of People for Practical Life Education), a subsidiary of USAID at Atebubu in the Brong Ahafo Region of Ghana.

He was an amateur boxer for six years and often trained at the Kaneshie Boxing Complex on holidays with the likes of Azuma Nelson Kpakpo Allotey, Adama Mensah, among others.

Moreover, Dontoh's interest in boxing and athletics gradually waned when he became fully immersed in acting and started touring the country with theatre and drama groups.

The director of USAID, Olean Hess who worked with Dontoh's aunt at the time had visited the house and noticed his incredible talent in art.

In later years when his popularity began to soar on the acting scene, his co-actor at the time - Grace Omaboe (Maame Dokono) of Obra fame - encouraged him to obtain formal qualifications in theatre and drama after he won the Best Actor Award in 1984.

In many interviews, Dontoh does not confirm or deny rumours about their romantic liaisons, but insists that the two were very good friends and particularly close during the period when Grace Omaboe was separation from her first husband.

Apart from acting, Dontoh is also a poet, scriptwriter, dramatist, playwright (television and screenplay), composer, singer, songwriter, painter, sculptor, graphic illustrator, etc.