From a “dumb poppie” in SABC2’s 7de Laan to a down-on-her-luck student in SABC1’s Generations… Debashine Thangevelo caught up with novice TV actress Carina Nel to find out more about her exploits in soaps.
GETTING a toehold in the industry – no matter how minuscule the role – is a big deal for any actor. So you can imagine Carina Nel’s delight when 7de Laan offered her a brief role in the soap.
Stealing away from the Generations set, the 25-year-old, a drama student at Tshwane University of Technology, says: “I was only there for two calls. I played this dumb poppie who was hired at the deli. But my character would be on the phone all the time and couldn’t make a single dish.”
Her short-lived popularity aside, she received a second shot to make a more indelible impression as Isabel van Heerden – MJ’s Afrikaans student girlfriend – in SABC1’s Generations.
Having had a crash-course on acting in front of multi-cams certainly made things easier when she started shooting her scenes.
“It was a dream come true,” she says of bagging the role. “They called me for an audition, I got a call back – it all happened within one week. Then they called on the Friday to say I had the role and I started on Monday.”
While this development messed up her schedule a bit, as she was busy with a kids’ stage production, she managed to find a replacement.
Nel laughs: “I was so over-whelmed, I cried the whole day. It was a really great break as this is the most-watched soap in South Africa.”
She debuted on the soap on February 5 – a day she recalled instantly and with pride.
As for working alongside Anga Makubalo (as MJ): “We have such a wonderful working relationship.
“He is very professional and makes me feel comfortable, which comes across in our on-screen relationship. And the audience loves our (inter-racial) romance.”
As with any great budding romance, there are always obstacles.
And there are a few strikes against Isabel, especially with her coming from a poor family and MJ’s parents being affluent.
Nel shares: “It’s a typical young relationship. They don’t know what they want.
“They are unsure about who they want to be. They really like each other, but there are obstacles, like her father being unable to pay their bills and her not wanting to be a charity case.”
In last Wednesday’s episode, Isabel was mighty peeved to have lost her scholarship.
Commenting on the storyline, she says: “She was really, really devastated. She takes pride in doing well in her studies. For her grades to go down and to lose her scholarship – she feels MJ ruined it for her.
“With her father needing money as well, it all becomes too much for her.”
What’s helped the language transition is the fact that the writers have given Isabel lines in Afrikaans.
And the cast adore her.
She chuckles: “I’m called bokkie by everyone. And they always make an effort to greet me in Afrikaans or say something in Afrikaans. It has been over-whelming.”
By the way, Nel is also doing a one-woman play called Sand at the forthcoming Grahamstown National Arts Festival.
“It’s a very demanding role as I jump between ages. But I love digging into this character’s life. And I love these emotional roles. It is fulfilling.”
Back to Generations.
Nel is hopeful there will be a happy ending for her romance. She continues: “It also shows people that even if you have nothing, if you work hard you can get somewhere – you don’t always have to stay at the bottom.”
With that kind of approach, it’s no wonder everyone adores this new bokkie on the soap scene.
• Generations airs on SABC1 at 8pm on weekdays.