After years of doubting she had what it took to become an actress, Lujabe finally took steer of her future’s reins and went against the tide to nurture hear creativity. After studying abroad for years, she returned to South Africa and burst onto our small screens playing Ziyanda on VUZU Amp’s drama series, Ayeye.
An actress, voice-over artist and writer, Lujabe shares with us her journey to stardom.
TELL US MORE ABOUT YOURSELF AND WHERE YOU GREW UP
I remember my life from the age of four. We were living in Australia and settled in Mafikeng, South Africa in 1996. As a child, I was very energetic, just like how I am now – very happy, and very intrigued about the world.
WHEN AND HOW DID YOUR ACTING JOURNEY BEGIN?
I didn’t always know that I wanted to be an actress specifically, I was just creative. Then in high school, I was too shy to be part of drama class, so I joined the orchestra - and that’s where I learned about creativity. When I was 18, I moved to Australia to study Communications at Charles Sturt University. Being in a different country without any family really gets to you. I became even more depressed because I was studying something I didn’t really want to study and I also knew that I only had one shot at higher education, so I stopped doing communications and auditioned for all the Performing Arts universities in Australia.
I didn’t tell my parents that I wanted to change courses because I didn’t think they would fully support acting and performing arts since it was never something I had done before. I eventually got accepted into Charles Sturt University where I started training. While I was there, I went to New York Film Academy, and then came back to South Africa and that’s when I got my first job on Ayeye. But my journey started in Australia.
AYEYE WAS YOUR FIRST JOB, WHAT WAS THAT LIKE?
It was amazing! I loved it because I was very naïve, and I hadn’t been living in the country for a long time – over six years. So, when I came back, I had no idea I was working with a star-studded cast! That’s why it was easy to act with everybody. The only people I knew were Somizi and Khanyi Mbau because before I left the country Khanyi Mbau was everywhere - but I was clueless about everybody else. That made the experience less nerve-wracking. It was a very blessed first experience and also opened a lot of doors for me.
YOU’RE ALSO A VOICE-OVER ARTIST AND A WRITER, IS THAT SOMETHING THAT YOU DO ON A PART-TIME BASIS?
I would say so. I really love making use of the different things my voice can do. I asked a couple of friends about how I can get into it and did a course with SAVOA, the South African Voice Over Academy, after which I joined their agency. It ties into acting as well so whatever I do to improve in my craft ties into the voice-over and expanding my range.
I’ve always loved writing. I just came back from Mafikeng, and I found my creative writing books from when I was younger – and I’m so impressed at what I was capable of imagining at such a young age! So that is something that I also do part-time. I wouldn’t say it’s a big passion, but it's something I'm good at, and if anything calls for me to write it, I will.
WHAT CHALLENGES HAVE YOU FACED ALONG THE WAY?
Self-esteem challenges – the thing about acting, which I didn’t realise in the beginning, is that it’s a creative craft but it’s also deeply mental and spiritual. And you’re going to be taking on roles and other people’s lives, and you’re going to learn a lot about different things. You must stretch yourself to be able to act that out. It forces you to go inward, and in the beginning, what stopped me – even as a child, was thinking that I couldn't do that. I didn't really believe in myself. Something else that people don’t know about being a creative artist is that you’re going to lose a lot of money before you start making money. I spent two years after graduating constantly auditioning, travelling from Mafikeng with a taxi to get to Joburg for auditions then travelling back – only to never land those auditions. It all costs money.
WHAT ARE YOU CURRENTLY WORKING ON?
I’ve recently joined the cast of The Estate on SABC 3, playing the role of Precious. I was headhunted by Clive Morris Productions. Other than that, I have a movie coming out in December, I can’t say the name yet. Another film that I worked on, African America, came out in June or July this year on Netflix.
DO YOU HAVE INTERESTS OUTSIDE OF WORK?
I’m very much into self-development, expanding my mind, and expanding my level of consciousness by learning different interesting things. I also have an acting academy that I’m trying to develop, we’ve done some workshops with the Johannesburg Theatre.
WHICH WORDS WOULD YOU USE TO DESCRIBE YOURSELF?
I’m multidimensional; the earth is such a unique planet – it’s a place where we can be physically existing but at the same time there’s a whole other spiritual realm that’s co-existing and there are so many different dimensions you can explore. I’m resilient; outside of the challenges that I mentioned, I’ve faced a lot of challenges in my life from a young age – like my dyslexia. It wasn’t common, especially in the black communities. By sharing what you may have overcome through resilience and how far it’s gotten you, you can help somebody else.
IF YOU HAD SUPERPOWERS, WHAT WOULD THEY BE?
Shapeshift – I could change into anything and anyone. That’s so funny because that’s what actors do! I’d also want to be invisible.
WHAT MESSAGE DO YOU HAVE FOR YOUR FOLLOWERS AND FANS?
Ever since I started in this industry, everyone that has followed me has followed my journey with me, and they’re always extremely supportive. When I’m not on social media for a long time my inbox is always flooded. They inspire me, so a big thank you to them. I’m back and bigger than ever to give the people what they want.
BY NTHABISENG MAKHOKHA
ZANDILE LUJABE: HOW RESILIENCE HAS HELPED HER MOTIVATE OTHERS
Reviewed by Michelle Pienaar
on
October 21, 2021
Rating:
Reviewed by Michelle Pienaar
on
October 21, 2021
Rating:
