While his light blue eyes and chiselled features leave the women swooning, Ivan Botha has eyes only for his wife, Ciske Kruger, and his baby girl, Amélie (named after their favourite French film). And his character, Pieter (Ryno’s half-brother), is gaga for Annelie.
Botha joined 7de Laan in 2009 and juggles his time to accommodate his film roles.
“I’m still doing movies. But they are far in between. You only shoot about a month or two. What 7de Laan, or a soap does, is allows me to have a stable income because I do write as well,” he shares.
Given that he made his movie debut in The Raven (2007), with several other releases (Bakgat, Bakgat 2, Superhelde, Hond se Dinges and Roepman) to his credit since then, his infatuation with the genre is noticeable.
He explains: “It is way more organic. The process is slower and it is a little bit more truthful and honest as a genre. Also, the process of telling a story with a beginning, middle and end is always special.”
Regarding the transformation of Pieter, Botha offers: “He started off as a very dark soul, who arrived looking for family. And he found Ryno, who is his half-brother. Having grown up in an orphanage, he didn’t have the best people skills. Progressively, he started mingling with the community and he found his first true love in Annelie.”
On working on the same set as his wife, he smiles and says: “We have done a lot of productions together, which is always a lot of fun. I know a lot of actors who won’t look for a partner in the industry as, yes, it does have its pros and cons. We met at varsity and married straight after. We are both hard- working and she is a very passionate person. I think compromise and understanding each other’s wants and needs is what works for us.”
Botha is awaiting kykNET’s response to a sitcom he has pitched. He also wants to get involved in theatre and is looking forward to doing Bakgat 3 next year.
HER affable personality belies the feisty characters Kruger has played to date.
She has finished shooting her scenes for her role as Mariëtte Landman and is at home bonding with her two-year-old daughter, Amélie.
The character is shrouded in secrecy. But, make no mistake about it, she spells trouble – big time. Let’s just say, she is going to be bad news for one unsuspecting local as she tries to swindle that person for a few million so she can resign from her miserable job.
After three years in the industry, Kruger laughs off the fact that she always seems to get typecast.
“I don’t have your typical sweetheart face. And I do seem to get typecast very easily. I think Superhelde was the only movie where I wasn’t playing a spirited character.”
On landing her first soap role now, she says: “I enjoy playing a character (who is) a bit different. Mariëtte is quite clever. She knows how to wangle things to get what she wants. And she can play people.”
This time around, though, Kruger has to be more restrained with her character because Mariëtte’s deceptive nature has to be concealed. Delighted about the challenges that that offers, she is also pleased with her formal but sexy wardrobe.
What she enjoyed most about working with her husband again is that they got to see more of each other. “Usually, we are working on different sets. Since Amélie was born, more attention goes to her. And between our scenes, we got to talk and have coffee, which was nice,” she says.
On juggling motherhood with a demanding career, Kruger says: “It depends what type of soapie you’re working for. Sometimes it can become more difficult because of the long hours. When we are shooting the dramas and movies, you aren’t working every day. It did become quite difficult shooting at 7de Laan. We had to drop her at daycare at 6.30am and then pick her up around five or six that afternoon.
“We still had to go home and learn our lines and play with Amélie. I think that bonding time is very important.”
By the way, Kruger will be in the next instalment of Getroud met Rugby on kykNET. Shooting for the new season begins next year.
In the meantime, she is happy to spend time with Amélie, who has “everyone wrapped around her little finger”.
lCiske Kruger will be in 7de Laan from December 30 until January 23 on SABC2 at 6.30pm on weekdays.