I had to leave the Wits accounting class for what I loved, and it has been a blessing ever since day one, says the internationally acclaimed Thapelo Mokoena.
Mokoena said his parents were frustrated and worried when he left accounting for the arts but his success from his first year at AFDA has proven that he was meant for the big screen.
He is now celebrating 21 years in the entertainment industry and according to him, there is no better way to celebrate than to be featured on a survival horror series – something he never imagined he would get to do.
Pulse is about an international group of gamers who are working hard on presenting the upgrade to a game.
But the tables are turned and they realise they need to start fighting for their lives when an electromagnetic bomb fries every electrical circuit and people’s heads.
Mokoena described the Showmax series as a survival horror series from an African perspective, since it was shot in South Africa and Mauritius.
“We were supposed to make this project much earlier than we did but the whole world was unpleasantly surprised by the Covid-19 pandemic so things were actually delayed but in my world, and in my case, it really gave me enough time to interrogate and imagine.
“It was crazy enough because I haven’t done something like this, it was all new and so different. Personally, I’ve never done anything like this concept so for me it was perfect ground to challenge myself, which is what I’m all about when it comes to performance. I prayed for a role like this and it was around 2019 and I’m grateful that we finally made it and the excitement is through the roof.”
Mokoena said he has already built a timeline for himself where he knows what work he would like to do at which point and this was his reason to drop some of the work he has been called for – but Pulse was simply one of a kind.
The award-winning actor said he has focused his energy on presenting his other side of the craft and not going on screen as the same person repeatedly.
He said he would not be the ladies’ man and the good guy all the time.
“I’ve never been a crazy fan of horror. Absolutely not! I am not a big gamer but guess what I am, I am an actor and a performer. My job is to step into the shoes of people I don’t even know and to foreign spaces and live there. That’s the beauty of it, you step in and start doing the work,” he said.
Looking back at the 21 years he has been on screen, Mokoena said his biggest career highlight was to work alongside the late Jamie Bartlett on Nothing for Mahala.
He said the actor used to make him feel like he belongs and always ensured that he kept his spirits up and never gave up.
“He was always so enthusiastic about me as a person. When he saw me he would give me these big hugs and I just never took it for granted. Also, the opportunity to work with Idris Elba on Long Walk To Freedom, not only because they are big names, but just because they were there with me on my journey.”
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