- 1 week ago
Nomzamo Mbatha Talks 'Coming 2 America' Role and Career
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00:00A woman isn't allowed to rule Samunda. It's the law.
00:03Did it ever occur to you that Mecham wanted to be your heir?
00:06Would you dare banish me from my own bedroom?
00:13It's so good to see you.
00:15You really are an extended member of the Essence family.
00:18You host the Essence Festival service for us.
00:21It's so good to see you.
00:23Now you're incoming to America.
00:25I know, right?
00:27The evolution, it's been so beautiful.
00:30So, so, so beautiful to be a part of this.
00:32Yes, we talked about, I think, 2017.
00:34We were like, you're going to take over in the U.S.
00:36and here we are now.
00:38No!
00:41So it's so funny.
00:42I've talked to a lot of, you know, artists who are up and coming,
00:46you know, and they felt like they've had some of the biggest moments of their career,
00:50which is crazy because it's such a, you know, difficult time.
00:53And so I think about this movie, you know, coming out at this time.
00:56What does it feel like for you?
00:58It's unreal.
00:59It's so unreal.
01:00It's so unreal.
01:01I mean, thinking about just the journey and the fact that this movie is literally like
01:06coming to America's story.
01:08Yeah.
01:09Because at the end of the day, you know, so much work has gone into this,
01:13so much of just realizing the moment for what it is.
01:17I think, you know, coming to America too is a cross-pollination of the diaspora.
01:23It's a cross-pollination of where the world needs to be, of where the world is right now.
01:28So it's just amazing.
01:30I'm taking it all in.
01:32I'm excited.
01:33I'm nervous.
01:34Because when I strike that, you're like, oh my God, I think I don't like me.
01:41Everyone is threatening you.
01:43Like, you better not mess this up.
01:46Oh, no.
01:47Well, you didn't.
01:48Not even close.
01:49Not even close to messing it up.
01:51Tell us how you got the role of Marina.
01:52Goodness.
01:53Wow.
01:54So where do I start?
01:55I am in Abu Dhabi.
01:56Okay.
01:57I'm doing some work with the United Nations.
01:58As you know, I'm a goodwill ambassador for the Refugee Agency at the UN.
02:00So I'm doing work and we're shooting this thing.
02:01And I get a call from my agent and he says, Namzamo.
02:04I need you to be on a flight back to LA.
02:06Okay.
02:07So I'm doing work and we're shooting this thing.
02:09And I get a call from my agent and he says, Namzamo, I need you to be on a flight back
02:20to LA.
02:21You can send in a tape for this project, but being in the room is where you need to be.
02:27And I was like, Nick, I can't do it, Nick.
02:30I've put up money so much for other artists and I never got them.
02:36And he was like, you've got to do this for me.
02:38So I was supposed to fly from Abu Dhabi straight back to South Africa to win the South African
02:43Music Awards.
02:44Okay.
02:45And were waiting for me at rehearsals.
02:48Right.
02:49After like sleeping at three in the morning and like, okay, cool.
02:50This is what we're going to do.
02:51I changed my flight.
02:52I canceled my flight from Abu Dhabi to South Africa.
02:53And I booked a whole new flight from Dubai to LA.
02:58Oh my goodness.
02:59And mind you, Dubai and Abu Dhabi are like two hours.
03:08So I had to wake up at like four in the morning with my suitcases, get a car that would drive
03:17to Dubai.
03:18I get to Dubai.
03:19I get on an Emirates flight and I fly to LA.
03:23I land the afternoon before the audition.
03:26Oh my goodness.
03:27Day of the audition.
03:28I'm getting my makeup done.
03:29I get a call from my manager.
03:31Crystal says, Oh my God, you won't believe this.
03:34The agent says she can't see you today.
03:36You can't do the audition.
03:37I was like, right.
03:38Well, you know that I'm in America just for her or something, but in the makeup chair,
03:50I finished my makeup.
03:51As I'm about to finish my makeup, I get a call back after like 20, 25 minutes, worked
03:56it out.
03:57Get in the Uber right now.
03:58They're willing to see you.
03:59I get in the Uber.
04:00I go straight to the audition and Leah Butler was just the most amazing, amazing woman
04:06I, she gave me so much like relaxation and so much like kindness.
04:12And just, I had fun just auditioning.
04:14And obviously you're being told that you're going to be the next princess of someone that
04:19you're going to be like the child.
04:20I have to do my very, very best in that audition.
04:27And literally I finished the audition.
04:30I leave her offices.
04:32I go back to my house.
04:34I pick up my suitcases and I'm headed back to the airport and I get on a flight that
04:39afternoon.
04:40Africa from LA and I go straight into or into rehearsals for the South African musical.
04:49I think we all need that story.
04:55Because we think we're busy.
04:56That was a whole other level.
04:58Right?
04:59I think about it.
05:00I'm like, what a crazy, crazy ride.
05:03You know, the best experiences of my life.
05:08All the sacrifices that were made was so worth it.
05:11Yeah.
05:12To sit here and say that I told the story.
05:14Absolutely.
05:15Absolutely.
05:16So when did you find out you got the role?
05:18I found out on my grandmother's birthday on the 27th of July.
05:22And it was the hardest secret to keep because, you know, it's like, yo, you cannot say anything
05:28until Paramount is ready to announce you.
05:31And I was like, my grandmother's birthday was just another affirming moment that, you know, this
05:37is, this is the calling.
05:38This is exactly what was meant for you.
05:40It's exactly what is supposed to be happening for you.
05:43You know?
05:44So it was amazing.
05:45It was so important.
05:46And I remember just like, you know, getting the call and I thought, okay, they're both
05:50calling me, my manager and agent, just to be like, hey, you know, sorry, babe, didn't
05:56happen.
05:57You know, Nick is like, do you know what I want to say?
06:01I'm like, you probably want to let it down easy.
06:04Oh, no.
06:05Total opposite.
06:07What can you tell us about wardrobe and were you involved about?
06:13Cause I, I mean, you wear beautiful gowns offset.
06:16So I was like, I was looking forward to seeing you in the film and you look gorgeous as well.
06:21Can you tell us a little bit about that?
06:23Oh, first of all, just like the dream just coming to life of even working with Ruth Carter,
06:29the Ruth Carter, you know, knowing that she will be able to bring the regal, the beautiful,
06:35the, the, the bigness of, of the story and what garments mean in your Zamunda and what garments
06:42mean as black people.
06:44Okay.
06:45Cause we love to look good.
06:47She just brought every single thing.
06:50I remember just going into fittings and then fitting the wedding dress.
06:53And I was like, Oh my God, this is going to be amazing.
06:56Yeah.
06:57So sweet.
06:58And she was just so kind.
06:59And then I remember getting on set and doing, um, before we started shooting.
07:03So I had to do my, my, my, my onset puttings and the garment turned out to be a design,
07:10which is a huge African luxury, uh, brand that is from South Africa.
07:16Oh, wow.
07:17It was such a beautiful and full circle moment.
07:20And just no earth real, you know, just so proud as well.
07:24My fellow countrymen that he's talent and his garments and his threads get to be showcased.
07:31Um, so I'm wearing, that's my palace uniform.
07:34Okay.
07:35Yeah.
07:36Locked out of there.
07:37But just the whole process, just, you know, feeling beautiful and understanding that, you
07:43know, whatever, you know, was on my shoulders and, and, and, and, and just like being the
07:48Zamundin woman and being the African woman that I know myself to be, to be able to reflect,
07:53you know, no matter if I'm wearing the palace, um, you know, uniform, or if I'm wearing the
07:59big, beautiful, um, final down, you know, down was just such a beautiful experience and
08:06working with African designers as well as always just, it's so key for us to remain authentically
08:11who we are.
08:12And I'm very authentic about who I am.
08:14And I love, I love playing with, you know, chunky earrings and chunky gold and chunky jewelry.
08:19And I love playing with print and looking pretty and looking beautiful.
08:23I'll sit down in a luxurious space.
08:25So it's important for me to just constantly be a representation of my people, which is the
08:31diversity of it, the uniqueness of it.
08:34And we will give you options.
08:36Yes.
08:37Okay.
08:38Yes.
08:39I was just reading something.
08:40They were like, this woman has four beautiful gowns for this awards ceremony.
08:44And they were.
08:45They were tickets.
08:46Yes.
08:47So I want to back up a bit because everyone may not know just, you know, what a big deal
08:54you are and your trajectory.
08:56So from what I've seen, started acting 2012.
09:00Yes.
09:01Face of Neutrogena 2015.
09:03But then I see, like you went back to the University of Cape Town, got your degree in
09:082018.
09:09And they said, I'm like, wait, what?
09:12So connect the dots here.
09:14Tell us, you know, about your journey.
09:17And it was so, it has been so incredible.
09:20How I even got discovered in terms of like having my first acting gig.
09:25I was studying at the University of Cape Town doing my accounting bachelor of commerce degree.
09:30And I was just getting really unhappy about just my life and just being a 21 year old and
09:35you know, in the world and just being like, I don't feel like I'm moving or shifting the
09:39needle in any way that I know myself to be.
09:41Right.
09:42Because as a, as a, as a teenager, I was so involved with like youth development stuff
09:47and economic development stuff, just very much in it.
09:50And suddenly that just being taken away from you.
09:53So I remember just like saying this prayer, like God, whether I graduate, you know, at the
09:58end of 2012 or not, my journey in Cape Town is done.
10:03So send me whatever you need to send me.
10:05Okay.
10:06A friend of mine, uh, saw these auditions and he said, yo, you have to go and audition
10:12for MTV base.
10:13They're looking for a new presenter.
10:15And I was like, no, I'm the one person for it.
10:18I have a long personality.
10:20And he was like, you don't know yourself.
10:27Yo, you need to enter.
10:28I'm going to make sure you do this.
10:30And anyway, kind of long story short, I entered the, this competition.
10:34I go from being top 10 in my city to being top 10 in the country to be top three finale.
10:41Top three finale.
10:42I'm all over.
10:43Like, you know, TV screens around the country and people are voting.
10:47Oh my goodness.
10:48Is she going to win?
10:49Is she fine on the car?
10:50And I don't win.
10:52No.
10:53My mom is upset.
10:56Everyone who's invested in the stream was like, we spent so much money voting.
11:05And so I remember like after they announced the winner who was so deserving, I went to
11:10the bathroom and I said, God, thank you for this no, because I know that you're preparing
11:15me for an even greater yes.
11:16Wow.
11:17And how many yeses have I experienced since then?
11:21That's true.
11:22That's true.
11:23From that, from that exposure, I got a call from a production company, Bomb Shelter,
11:27who is now my home and my business partners.
11:29And they called me.
11:30They say, we're looking for a young girl who can speak Isu Zulu, which is my home language,
11:35as well as speak English for a new show that we're doing.
11:38Pull up.
11:39I went to the positions and I got that part and I got to play the Juliet of the narrative
11:44of the story.
11:45It turned out to be the biggest TV show in South Africa that got relegated across the
11:50African continent, has been dubbed into different languages all the way until Brazil.
11:55Oh my God.
11:57From there, I get noticed by Neutrogena.
12:00They're looking for a new face.
12:02And mind you, I had just put them on my vision board because I admired how their partnership
12:07with my Gabrielle Union, like made us feel, you know, like seeing the billboards.
12:12I was like, one day, and I chuckled.
12:15I chuckled, turned into reality.
12:18Neutrogena came on board and suddenly BET wants to work with me.
12:25Suddenly, Essence Festival is having me on their stage.
12:29I'm thinking, this is crazy.
12:31Suddenly, Puma is making me the ambassador.
12:34The first non-athlete, female even, to be an ambassador for a sports brand that was,
12:41you know, molding into something that was different at the time.
12:44And suddenly your L'Oreal Paris as well is knocking at my bill.
12:48So it has been such an amalgamation of so many big and beautiful moments that I know have not just happened
12:58or mistake.
12:59I know that at the end of the day, it's the work that I've put in.
13:03I know that it's a little bit of luck and a lot of courage that just pushes me to just wake up every day
13:11and do what I do.
13:12But I think with all the glamour, with all the beautiful things that I get to experience,
13:17with all the incredible brands that I work with, the calling of my life,
13:21which is literally the thing that makes me feel like I shift the needle in this world,
13:27is my work with the United Nations Refugee Agency, which has taken me to the darkest corners
13:33of the African continent where I get to be a voice for those who are perceived voiceless.
13:38I get to interact with women who have been used as weapons of war and have had children
13:44that are a product of rape because in their countries it was war-torn at the time
13:50and they have to flee because of conflict and find themselves with a child and they are in a refugee camp.
13:57And I get to advocate for those women.
14:00I get to advocate for the little kids who are helpless.
14:03I get to advocate for the black men who are forcibly displaced,
14:08who were once workers in their countries like the DRC,
14:13but now find themselves being refugees in South Sudan.
14:17And I get to advocate for that.
14:18I get to raise money, millions of euros for them.
14:21And I get to resources and change lives and build schools and build hospitals
14:27and work with the United Nations.
14:29I think that for me is what truly fulfills me
14:33and gives me the hope of who we are as a people.
14:39For sure.
14:40And you also have your Lighthouse Foundation as well.
14:42Can you talk about that a little bit?
14:44I named it the Lighthouse Foundation because in the middle of a storm,
14:48the fishermen will look for a lighthouse as a form of refuge.
14:52That's exactly what I want my lighthouse to be.
14:54So we have raised millions of rands.
14:57And last year we got to take almost a hundred students to tertiary.
15:02This year we're taking even more.
15:05We just announced a further 1.5 million rands in funding for Bursary Foundation
15:11to make sure that people who either have, you know how it is,
15:15you know, if you have outstanding fees at a university,
15:18the university will withhold your degree and unable to get your qualification,
15:22which means you can't really go and apply for a job because they need proof.
15:26Exactly.
15:27So all the things that are part of the system that just, you know,
15:32that holds the black child back, that my thing and my motto in my foundation,
15:38it is to stand in the gap of society's most marginalized is the lid of invisibility.
15:44So whoever is in the missing middle, whoever is seen as invisible,
15:47that's who we stand up for.
15:48We're so excited right now.
15:50We're going to be giving away school shoes and school jerseys and uniforms
15:53and secondary to like 500 people around the country.
15:57I'm so excited.
15:58That's amazing.
15:59And they just need, they just need somebody to just be a bridge.
16:07Sometimes it's just about being a bridge.
16:09You know, I'm excited about the work that I get to do.
16:12For sure.
16:13And thinking about, you know, that side of the humanitarian effort,
16:16also, you know, as an actress, are there stories, you know, of women in South Africa
16:22or stories just from the country, you know, that you're hoping to be able to bring to the big screen one day?
16:27Oh, absolutely. Absolutely.
16:29One of my favorite books, wonderful book called We Need New Names by No Violet Bulawayo.
16:36And she's, she bases it in Zimbabwe.
16:39And it's just this beautiful story of this eight, nine year old girl.
16:43And they just follow her world and she lets us into the world and her perception of the environment.
16:48And I think it's such a stunning, stunning story that I hope to bring to life one day.
16:53I think we have so many talented and brilliant, brilliant authors and writers in this country in South Africa.
17:00In fact, even on the African continent that are just like booming right now.
17:05And it's just exciting to get to experience their stories.
17:10Yeah.
17:11And so now, I mean, you're in L.A.
17:13Now you've been there a couple of years now.
17:15But tell us, you know, what else is next for you?
17:18What else is next for you?
17:20Wow.
17:21That you can tell us.
17:24I know.
17:25Right now.
17:26A fantastic, fantastic director.
17:30His name is Jesse Atlas.
17:32I can't divulge anymore.
17:34He's up into trouble, but I'm excited for this because it means it'll add to the diversity of what I can offer as an actress.
17:42It's an indie film which is going to blow festivals by storm.
17:46It is a fantastic sci-fi thriller.
17:48Jesse is so passionate about the project.
17:50He is incredible.
17:51He's amazing.
17:52And I can't wait.
17:54CAA, my agents are like working overtime.
17:58So I'm a part of them and they motivate me to just keep going.
18:03But definitely, definitely, please look out for my collection for the first time on the African continent.
18:09There will be a collection.
18:11In fact, for the first time in the history of Puma, I've never collaborated with an African face.
18:17And I will have my collection out and it is called Shandu.
18:21It's an homage to my maternal grandmother who I believe is a living ancestor just like roaming around me.
18:29And so it's an homage to her.
18:32I named that collection so that it can echo through the ages.
18:36I'm so excited.
18:37I can't wait for people to see the pieces.
18:40I'm excited about it.
18:42I can't wait for so many little girls on my continent, in the world actually, just to see a dream realized and to know that it's tangible.
18:55Sometimes we look at dreams and we think it's so far-fetched or it's so out of reach.
19:00I think I'm a tangible representation of a dream.
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