Weekend Argus (Saturday Edition)
Jody may grab the Safta gold
‘Hard Copy’ actor holds dreams high
CAPE Town-born Jody Abrahams is no stranger to the spotlight.
The versatile actor has been nominated for best actor award in this year’s South African Film and Television Awards (Safta).
The 12th Saftas will be held this weekend at Sun City. The theme is “Our Stories Are Gold” .
Abrahams was nominated for his role as Benny Jacobs in the drama series Hard Copy based on the struggling tabloid, The Bulletin.
Abrahams’s character has grown in the series from a crime reporter to an editor focused on investigative journalism. He has been part of the series since it began in 2006.
Abrahams said: “Benny is made up of many characters and experiences I have been through. I wanted to give the character some truth and immersing myself in the character was a sure way to do it justice.”
Although Abrahams will not attend the awards ceremony, the nomination “terrified” him. “The last time I was nominated the show went off air for years,” he joked, referring to the series’ eight-year hiatus. Hard Copy’s fourth season returned in 2016.
Abrahams said he was “happy that the work we do is being recognised but I am not one for awards and such”.
He said the greatest accolade for his work was “knowing that I have inspired a laaitie (young boy) to be more than he could ever dream”.
Abrahams grew up in Woodstock. As a young boy he wanted to become a marine biologist or rugby player. He admitted to having been a “naughty boy”. But a childhood friend’s mother who worked at St George’s Grammar School, “would have none of that so she got me into the school”.
Abrahams was raised by his grandparents and believes his upbringing and schooling played a major role in how his life turned out. “The juxtaposition of being in a private school and then going back home to Woodstock, in those days, was really tough. But I grew up in a loving family, I was surrounded by love and it made me see and dream beyond the drugs and everything else in Woodstock,” he said.
Abrahams is married to actress and producer Diaan Lawrenson, who played Paula Van Der Lecq on 7de Laan. They have two children. “I am no longer Jody Abrahams, I am now Paula se man (Paula’s husband).”
The awards ceremony will be broadcast live on SABC 3 tonight at 8pm.
asanda.sokanyile@inl.co.za