‘Adulting and ‘The River’ actor Nhlanhla Kunene. Image via Twitter @Tee__MB
‘Acting is spiritual’: ‘The River’ and ‘Adulting’ star Nhlanhla Kunene
Talented actor Nhlanhla Kunene opens up about his bad boy characters Eric and Ndumiso in ‘Adulting’ and ‘The River’.
‘Adulting and ‘The River’ actor Nhlanhla Kunene. Image via Twitter @Tee__MB
Actor Nhlanhla Kunene, who plays Eric in Adulting and Ndumiso in The River says he doesn’t want to be a typecast actor.
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THE ACTOR RESEARCHED ‘ADULTING’ AND ‘THE RIVER’ CHARACTERS
The talented actor Nhlanhla Kunene, who plays troubled Eric in Adulting and the entitled Ndumiso in The River tells Drum that it takes a lot to get in and out of character.
“Acting is spiritual. I think once you understand that as a performer, then you are able to bring characters to life. Writers write because they have the ideas, but bringing those characters to life is a different story.”
Kunene adds that he researches each character, studies as much as he can about them, and also invites their spirit to come into him so that he can make the character believable.
“I embody the character and I become one with the character. Then when I am done shooting the show, I tell him that I am done and he needs to leave.”
The star also says he’s not an angry or aggressive person but had to be that for his Adulting role Eric.
“I am right-handed and Eric is left-handed and I had to learn to use my left hand so that it looks believable. It was exhausting being that angry.”
“But Eric is not a gangster. He is just a guy from the township who wants to work hard to provide for his little girl. He never knew his father and he wanted to do everything in his power to do right by his daughter. To be the dad that he never had”
His character Ndumiso in 1Magic’s telenovela The River is a spoilt brat, raised by a widower (played by Siyabonga Twala) who worked to provide for his kids,
The 28-year-old assures his fans that even though his Adulting role Ndumiso has criminal traits just like Eric, he wants to play them differently.
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WHO IS NHLANHLA KUNENE?
The River, Adulting and Justice is Served actor Nhlanhla Kunene tells Drum that he’s the last of four siblings raised by their domestic worker single mom. Kunene adds that his mom wanted him to be a doctor, but his passion was in the arts.
“She did not flat out say no to acting, but I could see she wanted me to do something else. I was somewhat of a whizz or a genius in maths and physics in high school, but I realized that I was more of an artist than I was an academic. My mother did everything she could to ensure we did well.
Kunene studied drama at Wits but had to drop out after two years because of fees. But after that, he was able to do other things like joining the Duma Ndlovu Academy which helped a great deal.
He got his big break on Lavish where he played a character who was a gangster that didn’t take anything seriously but loved his girl.
“ Then Eric also has criminal tendencies and Ndumiso came out of jail in his first scene. I am scared of being typecast. I wanna play a soldier, a gay guy, or a lawyer. Anything except a gun-savvy criminal.”
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