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Bulawayo teen dazzles SA TV

by Staff reporter
31 Aug 2019 at 18:28hrs | Views
WHERE there is hope there is life!

Born and raised in the dusty streets of Nkulumane, no one would expect that a local gem in the name of Sakhekile Mabhena (18) would feature in the South African television industry.

At a perfect age to kick-start an acting career, Mabhena started knocking on different doors and was given an opportunity to start from the basics of camera-acting, playing a character of an extra.

An extra is a non-participant character who brings colour and breathes life to a scene so it can be natural and real. Extras can be in the form of waiters, clients or nurses depending on the nature of a scene.

Mabhena, who crossed the Limpopo to the other side in April was privileged to get a contract as an extra for the city of gold's major soapies including Generations: The Legacy, Muvhango and The River.

From her base in Johannesburg, Mabhena revealed that passion and persistence for acting motivated her each day to strive hard in working towards moulding herself to become one of Mzansi's stellar TV darlings.

"Everyone starts somewhere; when I left Bulawayo after finishing my Ordinary Level at Mandwandwe High School I knew that I was born to be a TV star, my parents then helped me to move to Johannesburg to chase my dreams.

"I am an ambitious person. The first opportunity to me in Jozi was to be an extra on Generations and in a few weeks I saw myself being an extra on Muvhango and The River," said Mabhena.

Patience pays, and as such with only five months in Jozi, Mabhena recently landed a major role on Mzansi Magic's new telenovela The Thin Lines.

She plays the character of Mandy.

Mabhena revealed how similar the character she plays on The Thin Lines was to her real personality.

"Mandy is a comforting person who always has a heart to help other people including her on-set friend Sihle who seems to be having a messy life in as far as her love life is concerned.  

"In real life, I am a big hearted person who believes in helping those who are in need of help, apart from that am a goofy person, something that lacks in Mandy's character as she takes life too seriously," said Mabhena.

Apart from her break in Mzansi's acting industry on The Thin Lines, Mabhena is also a music video vixen and she has a passion to be a fashion designer.

Before she left Bulawayo she was part of a local ZBCtv series titled Igazi Lami.

She revealed the differences between the local and South African television acting industry.

 She said: "In Mzansi, acting is taken as a full-time profession and actors can make a living out of it, different stakeholders sponsor the profession unlike in Zimbabwe where one has to supplement acting with another job."

Source - bmetro