Lovely journey to stardom
EVEN though the entertainment industry isn’t a walk in the park and is riddled with horror stories for young females‚ actress Zimkhitha Nyoka has nothing but gratitude for the “good guys” who helped her along the way.
The actress‚ who has featured in productions such as
and explained that her journey as an actress had been mainly good despite the horrible stories she often heard.
“(My journey) has been quite lovely. This industry has been forgiving towards me, really. I’ve been learning‚ I’ve been getting employed‚ getting bigger and better roles‚ meeting amazing people and working with amazing directors and crews. It almost makes me scared because my journey has been too good to be true‚ like one day it all will go bad.”
Nyoka acknowledged that in an industry where many female actors have faced some sort of sexual harassment or advances‚ she was lucky to have had a blissful journey so far.
She gave props to the cast and crew of on which she made her debut as Badanile‚ who she said made sure she was safe as an artist and as a woman.
“I have been blessed to work with people that are protective of me and just make sure I am aware what people are allowed to say to me or what is expected of me. I know that these things happen and I will never take away from the seriousness of that fact. I am just an example that although there may be a few‚ they [the good guys] do exist.”
The 25-year-old said although she initially didn’t want the responsibility that came with being famous‚ she had embraced it because of the influence she has on young girls.
“At first‚ I didn’t want that for myself … all that responsibility. But then I realised that I am not that bad of a role model and perhaps I am needed. We live in a world where everyone really just wants to belong somewhere. I know a lot of young rural girls who keep looking for people like them on Instagram but they don’t find them. Then they resort to trying to change themselves to be what they see. Maybe they need to see someone who is just like them. I receive the responsibility of being a role model with pride‚ I love it.”
Nyoka is currently on the small screen‚ playing the role of Sibulele Nginda on the new Mzansi Magic drama‚ —