Jo-Anne high-rolling as broker Busi
BORN in Vereeniging, raised in Pietermaritzburg and with warm memories of having landed her first big acting break in The Game, a play staged at Durban’s Playhouse, bubbly Jo-Anne Reyneke is looking forward to her debut in SABC3’s popular High Rollers tonight.
Now living in Melville, Johannesburg, with her former Generations star partner Thami Mngqolo and their children Elakhe and Uvolwethu, Reyneke has been cast as a character called Busi Duma in the series that is televised at 7.30pm every Monday to Wednesday.
Duma comes into the High Rollers universe as a broker in the sale of Kings Casino and soon causes tension between Paul (Justin Strydom) and David (Antony Coleman).
“Busi is fierce, fearless and knows what she wants,” says High Rollers executive producer Luke Rous.
Welcome
“Jo-Anne is a talented actress with a strong background in television and we’re happy to welcome her to the High Rollers family”.
Reyneke, whose television credits include Muvhango and Rhythm City, and playing Layla in Intersexion, smiles when asked to describe her High Rollers character.
“She is a confident woman in her early thirties, who knows what she wants – and goes for it. Highly educated and well travelled, she is a chartered accountant who comes in to evaluate Kings Casino.”
With the show shot three months in advance, Reyneke started her first shoots last December. She has been enjoying the experience, and the cast “welcomed me with open arms”.
“I’ve never had to play a character like Busi. She has a lot of sexy scenes, which is new for me,” she adds.
“Viewers can expect a lot of drama from her. She complicates a lot of things for the brothers Paul and David King, and TT. She adds a new flavour of powerful woman to the mix.”
Immediately before landing this role, for which she is initially contracted for three months, Reyneke featured in the popular SABC1 telenova, Uzalo.
“I played Sindisiwe, a girl who tried to set her family free from her mother’s curse. In pursuing the truth she met her demise. She died having got to the truth but having not revealed it.”
Reyneke’s first TV performance was as receptionist Pearl in Muvhango, a show created, written and produced by Duma Ka-Ndlovu.
“She is still my favourite character because she was so comical, and I love doing comedy. Busi is my second-favourite because of how different she is from Pearl. I get to step into the shoes of someone who is completely different from me.
“Busi wears these amazing dresses – she always looks good, and she knows how to use that in both her work and personal lives. Her hair and make-up are always perfect … but I’m more comfortable in jeans and a T-shirt!”
Reyneke felt the bite of the acting bug when she was at school.
“I started wanting to make acting a profession when I got to Russell High School in Pietermaritzburg. It was the first time I’d ever done drama as a subject. My teacher, Mrs Holiness, made me take it seriously.”
After matriculating in 2005, she enrolled at Movie Tech Film and Television College in Durban to study performance and music.
“My big break in The Game, a play by Duma Ka-Ndlovu, was wonderful. It was amazing earning that much money as a first salary, because the stage was my first love.
“Also, I was working with people who had been in the industry – among them Sindi Dlathu, Mary Thwala, Lucia Mthiyane, from whom I learnt a lot.”
That success led to ka-Ndlovu encouraging Reyneke to audition for his Muvhango. She left KwaZulu-Natal in 2008 to audition.
“I had no family there, but I went anyway because opportunity doesn’t come knocking twice,” she recalls. billy.suter@inl.co.za
@SuterBilly