‘Acting industry is moving backwards’
Emmy nominee Mbedu is currently without a job
She is nominated for a prestigious Emmy award, but actress Thuso Mbedu says she has struggled to find work after finishing production on Mzansi Magic’s hit series Isithunzi.
The young star revealed how the hype around her nomination had died down, leaving her to dig deep into her savings.
“You have to save a lot. Even now, because the last time I worked was on Isithunzi, which was in June. I haven’t been working since and without my savings I don’t know where I would be.
“The reality of the industry is that you’ll find yourself chilling at home, even with an Emmy nomination. That’s so funny because there was hype for two seconds, where people were like, ‘we want you’, but in reality it was, ‘no, not really ... we want you because we want to be relevant and we want Twitter to see that we support you’.
“I have gone for several auditions and even had one offer that was later retracted.
“I have also turned down several offers because they were not in line with where I want to go as an actress. So, I have learnt to rely on myself and create my own platforms for exposure. I hope in doing that I can inspire and provide a platform for others.”
She went on to slam the state of the acting industry at the moment and claimed her “current reality” was an example of the industry moving backwards.
Mbedu had not worked for six months before Isithunzi and said in a statement earlier this year that she had auditioned for the role like it was her last. “Isithunzi was a project that I got after not working for six months. So I remember going into that audition and saying I’m going to audition like it was my last audition ever. I’m seeing God’s work right now.”
Mbedu scored an International Emmy Awards nomination last month for her role as young heroine Winnie on the popular series. She will compete against Brazilian actress Adriana Esteves, English star Anna Friel and German actress Sonja Gerhardt. Winners will be announced on November 20 at Hilton Hotel in New York.