With one of SABC3’s top dramas, High Rollers, returning to our screens, other shows in the genre will feel threatened. Boasting a star-studded line-up including Justin Strydom, Antony Coleman, Fezile Mpela and Xolile Tshabalala, there is no way this highly-charged casino drama was going to be a one-hit wonder.
Tonight caught up with Tshabalala, who plays Gugu, a sophisticated modern woman who is married to Mpela’s character, TT.
“I am very excited about our second season. I am happy about what my character Gugu is up to this time. All I can say is, if you know Lady Macbeth, then you have a good idea of what I will be like this time,” said an ecstatic Tshabalala.
Given that she’s had an illustrious career in the local film and TV industries, Tshabalala is well suited for the complex role she has to play.
“I am becoming one of those actors in South Africa who is blessed to enjoy a wide array of audiences. When we do stuff, especially for the SABC, you usually get black and Indian people saying they like what they see.Yet I have been lucky that I get people from all walks of life. You never know how good you are doing until people commend you. I hope I get the same feeling again off the second season of High Rollers,” she said.
Gugu is not necessarily the first character that people will be drawn to, thanks to her evil ways, yet it is how convincingly Tshabalala plays her that will keep you glued to the screen.
“I can never get anything right, I only try. I think people love Gugu because she irritates them, yet they can relate too. We all have that one person who reminds us of her and I think that’s what people want,” she said.
“Obviously, they give you a script and then you figure out how to approach the character. I am not a weave girl, yet Gugu lives by them. She is about glamour. Every time I have a part I have to compare the character with myself and see how much work I have to put in. I try to come to terms with how Gugu loves to look pretty at all costs. I would never be Gugu and since I love playing characters far from me, I’m loving this one.”
The more challenging the role, the more fun Tshabalala has, so she had the best time playing Gugu: “We are not in any way alike because, unlike her, I don’t depend on a man for my success. I am a method actor so I read people in different places, from the church to the Gautrain. I memorise a few of them and then find which one from that group is Gugu,” she said.
For her, a sound education and method acting armed her with the right skills for any role.
“I studied drama from high school and all over the world after that and I am not one to take the lines from the script and just recite them. I do a lot of research. I have to be comfortable enough to play that character and although we do not get paid enough for the work we put in, for me it’s for my audience. People assume that TV jobs are for pretty faces, but there is a lot of work that’s put in beyond just looking good,” she said.
l Season two of High Rollers premieres on Monday at 7.30pm on SABC3. It will air from Mondays to Wednesdays thereafter.