South African actress Angela Sithole makes her debut in the action-packed drama series, “Empini”, from Thursday, July 4.
“The Queen” actress will play Winnie Bhodoza, Khaya Bhodoza’s (played by Siyabonga Thwala) regal wife.
Sithole is no stranger to TV. She got her first big break on the 2013 drama, “Zabalaza” and has gone on to star in several other local productions like “Savage Beauty”, “In The Dock”, “Binnerlanders”, “Imbewu” and “Isibaya”.
Describing her latest role, Sithole said in a statement: “Winnie is a very strong character and will do everything to ensure that the Bhodoza name remains clean in the public eye.
“She’s very charming, persuasive and does what she needs to in order to get her way.”
Sithole explained that she wanted to be a part of the show because of its beautiful storyline and the depth of her character.
“I love that Winnie Bhodoza is such a strong character and there’s so much depth that goes into her.
“There are a lot of internal struggles she faces in order to keep the family together, which is what drew me to her in the first place. She’s indeed an interesting character.
“She is different, I don’t think Winnie has any ulterior motives, she's not devious in a sense. Whereas the characters I’ve played in the past were like that, they are quite weird - they do bad things to get their way.
“But Winnie is very charming and poised in the way she carries herself. Even myself, I take from that and I’m like damn, I can learn something from her.”
On the series, Winnie and Khaya have built their empire together. They have two children and although their relationship faces hardships, they love each other deeply.
“It’s also so beautiful to see a black couple just genuinely love each other like that with no infidelity. Well, for now,” added Sithole.
As for how she prepared for the role, she said: “There are quite a few people that I had to reference and look into in order to see how they handled certain situations.
“Winnie goes through a lot and still has to remain strong. She has to show that she still has everything under control. There are a lot of women out there who go through certain things in life but on the outside, they need to remain stoic.
“Just by viewing and referencing other strong women that I know and have seen, even just looking at certain things from my mother, I don’t have to look far.”
On working with Twala, she added: “It’s been amazing. We always laugh every day on set. He’s an amazing person to work with, he has an amazing energy. It’s my first time working with him and we have such great chemistry.”
∎ "Empini“ is currently streaming on Showmax, with new episode dropping on Thursdays.