Actress and philanthropist Nomzamo Mbatha will take on her second international lead role in the sci-fi thriller Assassin, sharing the screen with the legendary Bruce Willis in his final role.
Nomzamo Mbatha finds the beauty of humility in Bruce Willis
Mbatha will be playing the role of Alexa, a woman who has been mourning because her lover has died, and she has not been able to find the right answers.
As the story unfolds, we witness her pursuit of truth and justice while exploring the depths of her love for him and their shared experiences.
Mbatha said she was able to bring in emotional weight to her character by having an idea of grief but not exactly grieving for someone who has died, but someone who can still come back.
Adding sci-fi thriller to a list of projects
“My character is trying to strike a balance between grief and worrying about whether I have lost him forever,” she said.
“But there’s also the complexity of hope — the hope that he will get better, that he will come back to me, that I will find the answers, and that I will hold the people who have put him in this state accountable.
“Little do we know that she’s the one who gets the biggest surprise in the end.”
The former Isibaya actress said she was drawn to her character because she has always been fascinated by the idea of delving into the thriller and sci-fi genres
“When I got the opportunity to sit down with the director after completing all the auditions, we realised that with sci-fi, thrillers, and action, there’s a lot of emotion and heart involved.
“I really wanted to portray a complex character who also experiences surprise in the end. But more than anything, I wanted to challenge myself in a different genre, to add sci-fi thrillers to the list of films and projects I’ve accomplished.”
I enjoyed working with Bruce Willis
It took Mbatha months to prepare for her role, and she was nervous, especially because she would be acting alongside Willis, someone who has done a great deal of action films and Hollywood blockbusters.
“I was very nervous, but once I started production, the nerves vanished. I wasn’t nervous at all. I enjoyed working with him so much. He still has that amazing smirk — the Bruce Willis smirk.
“The biggest lesson I’ve learned from him is the beauty of humility. The fact that you can be the biggest star in the world but still greet everyone on set, just taking a moment to make people feel seen.
“It was beautiful to witness. It stuck with me that you lose nothing by being a global superstar but still have humility at your core.”
Assassin will premiere on Showmax on May 13.
