The veteran actress chats to Kwanele Mathebula about her long-awaited return to our screens after a 17-year break.
Picture: Mzansi Magic
Popular for her villain character Ntsiki Lukhele on SABC 1 soapie Generations, Pamela is back in an even more fearless role in the second season of Mzansi Magic prison drama Lockdown.
I returned to South Africa in 2014 with no intentions of going back to acting. All I wanted was to impart the knowledge that I’ve acquired in my career to young and upcoming actors. I developed a 10-step programme that would help them build their self-esteem and acting skills. These skills are aimed at teaching actors to love their craft and invest in it.
I found out about Lockdown through fellow actress Lorcia Cooper. After seeing her on Instagram, I couldn’t remember where I knew her from. But after going through her profile, I realized she had acted on Backstage. That’s when I also saw that she was Lockdown. I loved the graphics, which prompted me to look it up on YouTube. And after watching a couple of scenes, I knew that I wanted to join the show. I was blown away by the quality of the story, the acting and its authenticity Lorcia’s acting is phenomenal, and the drama depicts African authenticity that people around the world can relate to. Lorcia put me in contact with the producers and the rest is history.
The character breakdown I received for this role was intense. My character preparation included conversations with the producers, my agent and even a therapist. This is because the character has an affliction that will shock audiences; some of her traits and nuances only began to make sense when we started shooting
My life experiences have prepared me for this role. I’m thrilled that my return to television is through this show. Lockdown is ground-breaking, and I am excited for everyone to watch it. This is where we should be with our storytelling.
Lockdown season premieres on Mzansi Magic (DStv channel 161) tonight at 8:00 pm CAT.