City Press talked to Thuso Mbedu, 25, Makgotso M, 22, and Michelle Mosalakae, 22, who have taken Mzansi by storm and who have increased their tremendous support from fans and built up a large following on social media.
We asked them about their trials and tribulations in their acting careers and what gave them strength.
IsiThunzi star Mbedu has scored her first nomination in the introductory DStv Mzansi Viewers’ Choice Awards.
Makgotso Monyemokathoe , 22 Is Another Actress Who Is Making A Hit – described her break into the industry as fraught with challenges.
“I was living in a land of nos and now I am in my season of yeses,” she says.
The young actress, who only landed her first big role in 2016, in Muvhango, said she was glad that she didn’t decide to go back to the UK when her mother asked her to do so.
“I left South Africa in the early 2000s when my mum got a job in England.”
Makgotso was only 11 years old at the time. She said that she felt like a foreigner in the UK.
“There is this romanticised idea about being abroad and it is total bliss. But the reality is, if you go abroad now, you are a foreigner. There are struggles that come with being a foreigner.”
After completing her degree in film and television, she decided to come back to South Africa to pursue her dream of being an actress.
“I have always wanted to go back home because this is where I belong. You put on television in England and 90% of the people are white. You watch a soapie and you can literally count how many black people there are.”
Last But Not Least Is Michelle Mosalakae, 22
She told City Press she did not expect to get her role as Zakithi on Isibaya “so soon after completing school”.
“I started going for auditions at the end of January this year and I got a callback at the end of March and we started shooting immediately. I really feel that it was God’s grace. I was nervous and I never imagined that it would happen so quickly for me.”
Asked how she was dealing with her new stardom, Mosalakae said she was not going to allow it to change who she is.
“I am trying my best to learn about the industry and all that comes with it. I definitely don’t want to get lost in it.
“I see it as a way to intensify my craft … and to build my character as a human being.”
She said she still maintained a good relationship with her friends and family who have kept her grounded.