Local Celeb – Lunathi Mampofu

Lunathi Mampofu, 33, is an actress on the rise. Following her role as the competitive and vicious Emma on The River, the talented star shares on her acting journey

I studied at AFDA, Cape Town, after high school, and got my introduction into acting during my first year at the film school for a feature called Mercy, that I’m yet to watch. The director didn’t follow up with us, but it lives on the Internet Movie Database page. From then on, I starred in short films such as Umthandazo. With more work trickling in, I went on to do my first international gig in 2010 in the movie The Good Man, shot both locally and in Ireland. I did my third year at the Joburg AFDA campus and after completing my studies, felt that I needed to continue studying. So, I took off to study further at the New York Film Academy, and spent five years abroad. I later moved to Los Angeles to gain experience, even working at popular casting agency The Gersh Agency as an assistant. Locally, I’ve starred in shows including SABC1’s Ingozi, Isikizi, The Queen and recently, The River.

Emma, the character I played on The

River, was my breakthrough role and in getting to play it, I went the traditional route with an audition tape and was blessed to play her. I loved and enjoyed Emma, even though viewers were eager for her downfall. In fact, I still get hate mail because of her! She didn’t die in the end, so I’m hoping that she does come back to the show at some point.

The one character I wish to play is that of Mazet on Mzansi Magic’s Gomora.

The character is held by Siphesihle Ndaba, who plays the villainous role so well. Having played Emma, who was also devious, I want to explore these kind of characters more. Playing a villain was challenging, and I’m nothing like her – I’m neither scheming nor mean. I didn’t grow up experiencing people like her; often, I grew insecure playing her because I felt that I wasn’t doing enough for the character in portraying her realistically.

Watch out for me in the crime series Kings of

Joburg that will hit the screens soon. I’m also working on another series that I can’t mention as yet. Additionally, another film will start production at the end of the year.

I’m in a space of gratitude in terms of my career. I’ve been trying to get recognition since 2007. It’s only recently with The River that I finally made it to that space. I’m grateful to God and the universe. At first I was frustrated with the slow pace, but now I realise that it was all in His timing.

I’ve been postponing putting myself first for a long time. I’m not as adventurous as I used to be due to being a mom to my four-year-old daughter, Sky. However, hearing my mom and others saying that life isn’t just about being a parent finally dawned on me this year. With that, I’m discovering that focusing on myself while also loving my child is, indeed, possible.

The biggest fear I still need to overcome is that of not being loved enough. Love is all I knew growing up. And, as I get older, I realise that sometimes you aren’t genuinely loved back by others as much as you love them. Some people aren’t the fairytale I thought they were. I fear that love isn’t something that is truly there anymore.

Behind closed doors, I’m a jokester and mother. I’m that family member who makes everyone laugh. I’m in love with my daughter – everything I do is for her. I’m also an athlete and work out regularly. I’m a fashionista, too. But most importantly, I’m growing spiritually.

My introduction into motherhood had its difficulties. I gave birth to Sky in America where I was by myself, without family around to help me; neither did I have support from a partner. I figured it out by myself as I went along. Adjusting to being a parent when you aren’t ready can be tough. Being back home helped with getting the support I needed from my parents. As a single parent, often you are out and about trying to make a living so that your child can live comfortably, which may result in you not spending enough time together. However, during the national lockdown, we are together a lot more and I’m learning just how amazing of a human she is.

My childhood five words would be:

1. Spiritual – my dad is a pastor.

2. Adventurous.

3. Experimental.

4. Loving – we’re a close-knit family of five siblings.

5. Happy.

Traditional food always reminds me of home. I know that whenever I’m home in Cape Town, my mom will cook umphokoqo (pap and sour milk), samp, tripe and steamed bread. But, I no longer eat tripe because I’m vegan. I was vegetarian for seven years before that. I watched a few documentaries about meat, which put me off of it. I also was in a place where I just wanted to nurture myself from within.

The national lockdown has taught me self-love. I’ve learnt to be patient with myself, and that it’s okay to be uncertain of what’s to come. I pray a lot more, meditate and do breathing exercises. When the lockdown started I was anxious of what was going to happen with life as we knew it, such as my career, to the point where I even had panic attacks. I suppressed all of that by doing the above, and it’s working.

The first thing I’m doing once normalcy is restored is travel. I’m first heading straight to the US as Sky’s passport needs to be renewed.