Lockdown helps TV star lock down her art
Former assistant teacher brings raw emotions as Sne on ‘DiepCity’
Nompumelelo Vilakazi’s life shifted overnight from an assistant educator earning monthly wages of R3,500 to being thrown into a spotlight as Sne in DiepCity.
A year ago, the 23-year-old actor was an assistant teacher for grade 10, 11 and 12 learners at Ntathakusa Secondary School, in Winterton, KwaZulu-Natal.
Vilakazi was born in the neighbouring town of Bergville and was raised by her grandparents. She also passed matric at Ntathakusa before studying education in the University of KwaZuluNatal.
During her matric year, she joined community theatre as a way to stay out of trouble and escape being bullied, but she never in her wildest dreams thought that she will end up being a big TV star.
“I didn’t think this role will be this big. I can’t even walk in the streets without people asking for a picture. I sometimes sit around and think of how my life has changed drastically. I’m overwhelmed and excited,” Vilakazi confesses.
“I didn’t put a lot of time in acting even though I have a background in community theatre. So, when lockdown came I had a lot of time and started investing in my craft.”
Sitting at home and beside herself with boredom during the national lockdown, Vilakazi auditioned for DiepCity creator Mandla N on Instagram Live. She then recorded monologues, posted them on her Instagram feed and tagged Mandla N. That’s the short story of how Mandla N discovered the fresh-faced talent and cast her as Sne in the Mzansi Magic telenovela that recently aired its 100th episode.
“When I auditioned for Mandla for the first time, I didn’t have much to say. I only greeted him and the network cut me. There was a lot of traffic during that time and many people wanted their shot.
“I think he liked my face more than anything because he said ‘I’d like to see you again’,” Vilakazi recalls.
“When they started looking for a person to play Tsakane, who was the original character I was meant to play, they knew exactly who they wanted.
“But they couldn’t find a Tsonga actor to portray Tsakane, so instead they found a Zulu actor in me and they ended up changing the name to Sne to accommodate me.”
Vilakazi’s voice quivers as she takes me through Sne’s gender-based violence storyline that has felt both real and traumatic for viewers.
She has employed a method acting technique to make her portrayal authentic and emotionally poignant.
She details that when Sne was tortured by her abusive lover Fistos (Mzikayise Makroti) with the ice bath and again when the character was forced to eat raw green chilies, Vilakazi made a special request for production to let her do those things for real.
As a newcomer, she has also relied on the help of her expe rienced co-stars Mduduzi Mabaso, Dawn Thandeka King and Hamilton Dhlamini in translating her script and advising her on how to approach difficult scenes.
Vilakazi based Sne’s submissive side on the women from her home village and how they bow down to men. She admits getting Sne’s nuanced emotions have been the biggest challenge.
“The crying part is not that hard, but to get that emotion it’s not easy. They know when I go on set I give hugs to almost everyone,” Vilakazi shares.
“I have been working with a particular director for my emotional scenes, so when he details what he requires of me in a scene, I give him a hug as I listen and I draw the emotions from there.”
But the most difficult scene to bring to life for Vilakazi was the episode when Sne accidentally killed Fistos.
“I have attachment issues and the emotions in that scene were real and raw. I felt like I was killing a person that I started this journey with.
“I asked myself if I would be able to discover Sne without him. I remember it was a Friday and I cried so much that day I couldnt ’ open my eyes the following day.”
Growing up, Vilakazi was bullied about her looks. But she regained her confidence in varsity, especially after she entered a beauty pageant, Miss Sexy Chubby, and was even named Miss Personality.
“It increased my self-confidence to a 100. I remember walking around campus feeling like the queen that I actually am. It helped me and after that there were a lot of big women that looked up to me.
“We had these conversations about being fat and loving the fact we had something in our bodies that we cannot change no matter how much we try. We shouldn’t try to change ourselves to please others.”
With her newfound fame, more realistic physical representation on TV and spreading body positivity is something she is passionate about.
“It’s important to focus on yourself and bettering your life; it doesn’t matter what others think of you.
“Just because someone looks down at you in high school, doesn’t mean it’s going to be like that for the rest of your life. They might need your help one day.”
‘‘ The emotions in that scene were real and raw