Celeste Khumalo has been on our TV screens for as long as we can remember, and now she’s back in a new role. The 26-year-old Durban-based actress and former Miss SA Teen took a short break from acting and now she’s back. She is one of the cast members alongside Makgotso M of Showmax’s first local original drama, The Girl From St Agnes.
The actress sat down with ZAlebs and opened up about the drama series, the acting industry and her advice to aspiring actors.
Take us back, how did you get in to acting?
My mom put me in early. I did a lot of tv commercials, a lot of modeling and I continued this through to high school. Then Miss Teen came which got me a bursary, and I decided pursue a BA in Corporate Communication. I put a lot of opportunities on the back burner in order to finish my degree. Eventually I found an agency which advised me to stop modeling completely so I could rebrand fully into an actress, this was difficult because I wasn’t getting as much gigs as I was before. But everyone has to start somewhere and me joining my agency was my start of being able to take acting more seriously.
How was your experience of being on The Queen?
My first run on The Queen was a tough one because I did get a lot of “This girl shouldn’t be here”. I got a lot of criticism from Twitter, industry and even people from the top. But it wasn’t something I didn’t expect. I also could point out scenes where I simply didn’t deliver and where I couldn’t emotionally connect with my character. Some people who were higher up in the industry kept saying keep trying and I held on to that. I learned a lot about how to process criticism through the years since I’ve been working from such a young age. Eventually I lost the role. I then got called back to the Queen a year later, of which surprised me. Then reading the scripts I found out they called me back to kill my character. But the second time around I was much more comfortable. I was surprised to find that people, even today, still ask about my character.
Looking back, what was a difficult time in your career?
I was auditioning but I wasn’t getting gigs. At some point, I called my agency and told them I wanted to do ads again because nothing was coming through. So, I called an ad agency to work on that side of the industry but was a lot of conflict. So, I let that go. And during that time, I closed shop at my nail bar in Pretoria because it was hard juggling acting and handling a business. I then decided to take up my MBA because I felt I could have run my business better. I’m still in the process of getting my MBA, I took a break because I had bills to pay and I couldn’t afford it. I will complete it in due time. I had to go through it, though. I had told myself I had to do so many things before I was 25. With that I learnt never to put an age on my dreams, but to take however much time necessary to fulfill them.
What are some of the challenges you’ve faced in the industry?
Not enough auditions, work doesn’t come that often. And it’s also like other industries, where it’s who you know. But I also can’t complain much because I’m still earning my stripes, I still need to prove myself. Auditions were hard because I came into the industry at a time where actors/actresses who had been in the industry for long and had studied for this were complaining about people getting booked because they had a lot of followers or they were pretty. Like “Oh, she has so many followers. That’s why she got the gig”.
You’re currently on Showmax’s first local original drama, The Girl From St Agnes. How did that come about?
The auditions were very nerve wrecking. Showmax brought in a very serious Casting Director who was very particular and intimidating. I booked it and I was excited because it’s between Johannesburg and the Midlands. When I walked into the reading room, I saw actors I really admired and I was so excited. I called my agent like “Dude! There are real actors here! Do you know who’s in this room?” and she goes “Well, yeah! You’re a real actress too!”.
How was your experience on The Girls From St Agnes?
It was a lot different from any other set I’ve worked on. The people, vibe and culture were something I definitely had to adjust to. It was so exciting. There was a mood. You could already see the direction the show was going to take from the first scenes we shot as a cast. We had 2 female Directors and I think they were the best to do this series. The show deals with so many issues – issues of race, of gender, religion – and they handled each so well.
Tell us about this new role you’re taking on.
I play Kholwa, who’s the Head Girl in the school. An over achiever, the school is her life. She’s a black head girl in a white school so she faces racial challenges as she also faces family challenges. I laughed when I first got the role because I remember I never wanted to be a Prefect in high school myself. I was one of those girls that avoided the sun, I didn’t do many activities at school. But then Miss Teen happened and I became like Head Girl of the country. So this is all rather ironic but in a good way.
What advice would you have for aspiring actors?
I think that you need to keep your options open for days when there aren’t any gigs coming your way. People forget that acting and entertainment is a business itself. If the work is not coming on screen or in theatre then you can still have a service or skill to offer. So look in to courses or job opportunities that will allow you to do more just in case.
Source: Zalebs
