Actress Nqobile Sipamla loves the challenge of playing older characters, and this has been a strategic move.
This is according to Sipamla, who will star in Showmax’s Empini, where she portrays the character of Masasa, a woman in her 50s.
For the Masasa role, Sipamla said she researched different personality types.
Masasa is a gracious, humble, resilient, and deeply private woman whose association with a former lover sees her become the centre of attention.
Older characters
“I feel like it’s been the story of my life. Ever since I started my career, I’ve been aiming for characters that were 10 to 12 years old,” she explained.
“I’ve always wanted the meatier, more challenging, and juicier roles. I find that it takes one out of a space where you’re more likely to show your own habits.
“Older characters challenge you to do more research and understand more substantial things about life, values, and personality traits.”
Sipamla said she initially auditioned for the role of Winnie Bhodoza, which went to Angela Sithole. However, she was glad to be told to audition for the new part.
“Once I found out that Masasa resides in Kokstad,. I then thought to myself, ‘this is good for me’. My heritage derives from the AmaHlubi ethnic group, and my mother is Swati/Ndebele.
“So, when I read up about Kokstad and learned that it is just this melting pot of cultures that include AmaHlubi and many other ethnic groups, I was pleased that I was going to be portraying such a character.”
Preparing for the character linguistically
She said her maternal grandmother was of Griqua heritage and spoke isiXhosa and understood isiBhaca, a Bantu language traditionally considered a dialect of siSwati, isiXhosa, and isiZulu, which motivated her to strengthen her preparation for the character linguistically as well.
“I’ve decided not to be afraid of challenging myself in terms of languages with respect, of course,” she said.
“I want to explore different languages, and I want to explore different dialects, so I was totally in my Xhosa brain when I was asked to return for the second audition.”
Empini’s all-star cast also includes Owen Sejake as General Moeti, Charmaine Mtinta as Dorah Themba, Neo Ntlatleng as Ghathuso Moeti, Sparky Xulu, Simphiwe Nkabinde, Kabelo Thai, Amahle Khumalo, Joseph Sedibo, Terrence Ngwila, and Ernest Ndlovu.
