BACK LIKE SHE NEVER LEFT
Masasa Mbangeni returns to our screens with two exciting Netflix roles
‘Life has been incredible! I’ve been teaching, I’ve been learning, and I’ve been exploring other things in my life’
– MASASA MBANGENI
SHE’S wellknown for playing arch-villain Thembeka
Shezi on etv’s Scandal! – now South African actress Masasa Mbangeni (37) has returned to our screens with two new Netflix roles.
The award-winning actress has joined the cast of the new season of the teen drama series Blood & Water, and she’s also in the movie Heart of the Hunter premiering on 29 March.
“2024 has proven to be incredible. Now with this film and series, it’s just been a beautiful year. I’m doing wonderfully,” she tells YOU.
Masasa plays Mrs Makeba in Blood & Water alongside other new cast members such as Buyile Mdladla (Mr Makeba), André Lamoglia (Iván) and Daanyaal Ally (Gregory Dickson).
“It’s been a wonderful experience to be part of an established show that I’m a fan of,” she says. “Now I get to be a part of it and play alongside the incredibly talented and energetic young people. It’s amazing.
“I was well received by the cast, crew and production, so I just kind of felt like I slipped in.”
In the Netflix spy thriller Heart of the Hunter, she plays devoted wife and mother Malime Mambi, alongside Connie Ferguson and Bonko Khoza. Since she parted ways with Scandal! in 2020, Masasa has been exploring other facets of herself. “Life has been incredible! I’ve been teaching, I’ve been learning, and I’ve been exploring other things in my life,” she says.
“I think sometimes people have the mentality that we can only be one thing, but, honestly, I can wake up and decide what I want to be,” she adds.
“I’m in a phase where I’ve been exploring possibilities and what it means to have a life that’s creative.”