SA actress making waves
LINDI CECILE: TALENT HAS CAUGHT THE EYE OF HOLLYWOOD CRITICS
‘A talent scout chose me for an opportunity in Los Angeles.’
Hollywood-based SAborn actress and producer Lindi Cecile, 25, has been making waves in Hollywood. She was born and raised in Pretoria as Lindi van der Merwe.
She studied (BA) information design at the University of Pretoria from 2013 to 2016.
She’s worked on a couple of short films, new media content, web series and theatre projects and is now of the most sought-after SA actors in Hollywood.
Cecile holds the lead role in an original play called A Long Time Ago which had its premiere in October 2019.
It featured at a theatre in Arizona in December and it was selected for the Hollywood Fringe Festival 2020, which was scheduled for October this year (but was cancelled due to Covid-19).
It is an ongoing project that will be taken to more theatres in the future, including Hollywood Fringe 2021.
Cecile, who is part of an improv acting troupe called YesAnd-the-Kitchen-Sink, speaks to The Citizen about life on the international acting scene.
A talent scout chose me for an opportunity in Los Angeles. I knew that it was the best place to add more to my skill set.
My agency found me when they came to see a Yes-and-the-Kitchen-Sink improv troupe performance at the Groundlings Theatre. I have been a part of this improv troupe for the past two years.
It is directed by Suzanne Kent – one of the original members of The Groundlings in the ’70s. Thanks to my work in this troupe, I’ve also worked with Emmy award-winning actor and comedian George McGrath. The relationships I have formed with the two of them are very dear to me. Melissa McCarthy and Kristin Wig were once Groundlings too – in fact, this is where they met each other.
The agency compared me to these outstanding actors and praised my comedic timing and character versatility.
Of course. It is the toughest market, but I am fortunate to have worked with people who taught me how to navigate it best. There are four things in particular which have been the pillars of my success as an actor:
I can play multiple different sides of one character. In A Long Time Ago I played Portia Longfellow and I played her portrayal of Luke Skywalker. In A Srvant Of Two Masters I played Beatrice Rasponi and I played her portrayal of her brother Federico Rasponi.
Similarly, I can play opposite myself – two characters interacting with one another.
This is difficult for an actor to do because usually you would have another actor’s performance to draw from, and you truthfully respond by listening closely to them.
I can create an emotional arc for two characters interacting with each other while it is filmed at different times.
This is a big strength that sets me apart from other performers.
I can do Shakespeare one day and an action film with stunts the next. I can work from deep truth and vulnerability, but I can also do comedy.
I know my playing types well. I have a wide range, but I also know the strengths in my wheelhouse and I capitalise on them.
I am good at auditioning – I know the process like a well-oiled machine.
But I am also very fortunate to have this pattern in my career where I get cast on projects based on the performance in another.
I am very grateful for that.
I am always working on my craft. When I’m working on a project I do everything for that character, I live and breathe them.
In between projects I still work on my skills and stay informed to keep up with changes in the industry.
Acting is a business, and it is so important to understand that business if you want to be successful.
I get excited when I meet another South African because I know that the talent coming from our country is extraordinary.
I worked with another South African on the film Cricket Man which has done so well at festivals this past year.
Cricket Man won big at the New York Film Awards and the International Film Festival in Los Angeles. It also won the LA Film Awards and scored a Best Comedy win at the Vegas Movie Awards.
I’m preparing for my upcoming roles in the TV series Cat-andMouse and Borders, both of which require me to do a stunts.
A Long Time Ago has been selected for the Hollywood Fringe Festival 2021 and we are getting ready to start rehearsals for that run.