Doing big things on the small screen
Miranda wants her new Isidingo role to change attitudes
Miranda Ntshangase is rewriting her life and is going for what she wants.
Not only is she making a debut on Isidingo on Monday, but she also has a hot single out, making her a bona fide double threat as actress and singer.
But what has got the 30-yearold more excited is how her acting career has grown, to where she finds herself playing what she says is a powerful role that will change attitudes.
She plays the role of a doctor, and for her it is more than just wearing scrubs.
“I am humbled by this position because I feel being the first woman of colour to play a doctor on the show brings a twist to it,” she says, referring to her background.
Born Miranda Mokhele at Jagersfontein, southern
Free State, Ntshangase describes herself as coloured.
“I want especially young coloured girls to look up to my character because coloured people are forever portrayed [in a] bad [light] on television.”
She says it’s an honour to work with the Isidingo cast, describing them as “influential”.
You would think after her appearances on shows such as Tshisa, she would be arrogant about her strides. But she humbly says she is star-struck by some of her colleagues.
“I was nervous on my first day on set, but excited at the same time.
“The minute I saw bab’Darlington [Michaels], I was starstruck because this is someone I grew up watching on TV, so to be on the same set with him was just amazing, and he made me feel a 100% comfortable,” she reflects.
Motlatsi Mafatshe – who is also on Isidingo – attended Afda performing arts college with Ntshangase. She says she enjoys acting with him again after they acted together on stage in the past, long before the fame.
The TV doctor says she is looking forward to watching her debut on
Monday. “I plan on getting my two sons to bed early so that I can enjoy my first episode in peace with my husband,” she laughs. Ntshangase is also working on her first album.
“She recently released a track called Lendoda in which she shares how she met her husband – and how she is still happily in love with him. The name of the upcoming album, which will be dropped later this year, is a secret. She touts it as work that will mend broken hearts.
The video for Lendoda will be out by the end of July.
The ever-so-bubbly actress admitted to having a tough time juggling music and acting at the same time. She says that her team is great, and they are the reason she is able to handle her tight daily schedules. “My daily schedules are insane, but I believe God wouldn’t give you a talent or challenge you can’t handle, hence I am coping.”
When asked about her future plans she says: “I just want to continue doing what I love, continue thriving in the platform God has blessed me with, and just grow in a positive manner”.