Spiritually gifted Dawn King
CHARACTER: LINDIWE OF UZALO TAPS INTO PLACES SHE DIDN’T KNOW EXISTED WITHIN HER
‘I don’t know if I’m brave or just too fertile for my own good’.
Though she ventured into the entertainment industry a bit late, Dawn Thandeka King is a talent that takes lead roles like a pro, proving how playing a lead should look like. She portrayed a troubled jailbird Ma-Z on Mzansi Magic’s Lockdown, a character that allowed her to fully display how versatile she was. In SABC 1’s Uzalo, the country’s most viewed telenovela, King plays the diehard gangster wife Lindiwe Xulu, a role she says has taught her a lot, despite being completely different from her as a person.
Gangster wife
“At the beginning of Uzalo, Lindiwe was not portrayed like a hardcore woman at all. She was merely just a gangster’s wife, but then her character started to change slowly,” King said, pointing out that she puts in bits and pieces from characters and from different situations to create the woman that viewers know Lindiwe to be.
“Lindiwe didn’t develop in just a day or a season. She is still growing and will continue to grow because people evolve. She is now on man number three.
“Man number one was her friend from when they were young. They have children together, and she was literally the woman behind his success, but eventually the man got arrested, and man number two ended up dead. Lindiwe killed him in self-defence in season two,” she explained.
Season three saw her meeting man number three, who found Lindiwe down and out, which would then make viewers understand why she became a stay-athome wife, taking care of the man.
“Season four sees her become bored with the person she has become,” she said.
“She hijacks a heist her man organised, gets the money and opens up a club, returning to being the businesswoman viewers know her to be; revealing the strength once again, but with a lot of cracks in her life .”
Being Lindiwe
“I never give Lindiwe anything of Dawn. The only thing I give her is Dawn’s body. I then take from Lindiwe,” the actress said.
“Lindiwe is a very external person. She is in your face and somewhat a cold person,” she added, explaining that she feels that sometimes she has to apply the same coldness in life. “This character is created from different scenarios, and I just take her through diverse storylines because Dawn has never really gone through most of the things Lindiwe has, so I’m compelled to tap into places I didn’t know existed within me when required to do so.”
King said she believed she had learned a lot from her role in Uzalo, and appreciates the character’s emotional intelligence. “She handles difficult situations well.”
Echoing reality
The actress says she is proud to be part of a story that tackles issues that society faces on a daily basis;
topics that create discussions in families, and create educational conversations in society.
“People identify with the characters. They know women like Lindiwe. In KwaMashu, there are women who are similar to this character; women who love things. They live in big houses and drive big cars,” she said. “Everything of theirs is big, even their problems. These kind of women with flashy lifestyles are known.”
The award-winning series helps open up channels of communication in families, forcing people to tackle topics that have long been a taboo.
Mom of five
“I don’t know if I’m brave or just too fertile for my own good,” she said with laughter, indicating that she gave birth to girl children, but that luckily her fifth child is a boy.
“After getting my boy, the doctor told me that he was shutting me down because I would otherwise come back again. He told me he didn’t want to see me ever gain, but I was happy with that.”
King said while she doesn’t know a perfect way to define being a mother, what she knows for sure is that she is nothing without her five children. “I feel complete when I’m with them. I know that what I’m doing with my career is all for them.”
She added that she did not have the privilege of being raised by her own mother, a case she says her children are also encountering because of her work schedule.
“I live in Durban and they live in Johannesburg. The same thing I experienced, hence I didn’t have that special relationship with my mom. However, the difference is that my kids and I have a strong relationship,” she said.
“I don’t know if it’s because I’m an artistic mom. We are just very open with one another, but they know when not to cross the line.”
King admits she is a free-spirited mother. She tries to encourage her children to do everything that they love and tries to ensure that they understand her craft.
“Being a mom is not easy. It means I must be an example to my children, and never portray myself as perfect because then I would be saying to them that life is perfect, and it is not,” she said.
“I want them to know that in life when you make choices you must be able to live with them.”
Pregnant at 22
“I’ve always feared pregnancy. I was told that if you hang around boys you will fall pregnant, said King. “I feared sex. The first time a boy kissed me, I thought I was pregnant because in the olden days the discussions were not as open as they are now.
“My grandmother didn’t talk to us about sex at all,” she said, adding that she feel pregnant when she began to be sexually active at the age of 22.
“I was already out of tertiary and working, but it still freaked me out. My mom stopped speaking to me for a long time.”
King said she then married her boyfriend after their second child, and they have been together since. “I think I’ve always wanted to be a mother. I was just scared of the whole process of giving birth.”
Spiritual gift
The mother, wife, actress, motivational speaker and radio presenter said what makes her happy is an opportunity to be alone.
“I love being able to close the door and just be by myself. Being a spiritual being, this is important for me,” she said. “When you have a calling like mine, you need to sometimes remove yourself from everything else so that you can be able to hear yourself and the voices that speak to you.”
King said she has realised that her spiritual gift is the reason she is able to do what she does, indicating that her talent is a form of healing people, and that it is not a coincidence that she does all she does in the media industry.
“It means my voice should reach people, and I have made peace with that. I always pray for protection,” she said.
“I always ask to be protected because I’m a vessel that carries this voice that is meant to heal. With my craft, I’m doing exactly what I was called to do.
“My talent is the reason why I’m here, and when I protect it, I protect my purpose.
“Where I am with my craft is only the beginning. My main purpose is to have a platform where the world sees me because I believe my voice should be heard worldwide. I still have a long way to go.”
Radio host
King is the new member of Vuma 103FM, co-hosting the weekly Good To Go breakfast show between 6am and 9am alongside radio veteran, Makhosi Khoza. She says radio came to her. She explains that she received a call and was told that there was a spot on the breakfast show. “At first, I thought it would clash with my acting job but the producers of Uzalo were happy for me, and finally I had something to do in the mornings before going on set.”
King said she has learned the art of letting God take control of her life, pointing out that this has done wonders for her career. “It is that thing of surrendering and just being. Believe me, it helps.”