South African actress Nomzamo Mbatha has portrayed some memorable characters over her profession, however there’s one with a particular historic significance that has given her a new-found freedom.
Mbatha, 35, is at the moment filming the third and closing season of the critically acclaimed collection “Shaka iLembe,” primarily based on the lifetime of arguably the most well-known particular person in South African historical past, King Shaka Zulu. Mbatha performs his mom, Queen Nandi, a girl born round 1760 who, regardless of coping with excessive poverty and rejection, managed to increase a person who grew to become a preeminent Zulu chief.
Queen Nandi is widely known as a founding determine of the Zulu nation and Mbatha stated portraying her has been a privilege.
“It’s been the greatest honor of my life playing this woman,” she informed NCS’s Larry Madowo whereas on set at the Cradle of Humankind, a UNESCO World Heritage website some 50 kilometers (31 miles) from Johannesburg.
As a results of the position, Mbatha stated she has change into “much more courageous, much braver and just stubborn. I was never a stubborn person.”
“Shaka iLembe” is alleged to be the most costly South African collection ever produced, and the new season is predicted to premiere someday this yr.
Mbatha, additionally an govt producer, stated the present’s success comes from its distinctive strategy to telling the story of the controversial chief. Shaka Zulu was described as a ruthless chief who expanded his kingdom by violence.
“The thing about ‘Shaka iLembe,’ the special thing about it, is that it tells a pre-colonial lens of Africa. And unfortunately, a lot of the big scale productions that we see have a colonial point of view to it or a colonial leaning towards it. This is something that said it will be completely disruptive and be completely for the people who are the custodians of this,” she defined.
The present, which employs about 200 crew members a day, has obtained global recognition. “South Africans … when it comes to ‘Shaka iLembe,’ have just been truly, truly supportive,”Mbatha stated. “I’ve never seen people love a show like that and I don’t even think my name is Nomzamo anymore … everywhere I go it’s like ‘Queen Nandi, Queen Nandi.’”
Mbatha is not any stranger to the South African viewers, having made her debut in the 2013 well-liked TV drama “Isibaya.” But she was launched to the world stage in 2021, when she performed the position of Mirembe in the hit-movie sequel “Coming 2 America.”
“I had impostor syndrome in the beginning because I thought, can I really do this? Can I pull this off? … Because it’s … a lead character, my first Hollywood film — and it was just an unbelievable experience,” she stated.
Just months after “Coming 2 America” was launched, Mbatha discovered herself on one other Hollywood set, starring alongside movie icon Bruce Willis. “Bruce was incredibly friendly, really lovely, so respectful, and also, he had that charm, you know, the Bruce Willis smirk,” she stated. “One of the kindest people I’ve worked with.”
Mbatha is one in every of the final actresses to work with Willis, 70, who retired from performing in March 2022 following a analysis of aphasia, which has progressed to frontotemporal dementia (FTD), a progressive, mind illness affecting communication, habits, and persona.
Mbatha has obtained quite a few honors, together with being named to the 2025 TIME100 Next checklist, being the first South African ambassador for the skincare firm Neutrogena, and the hair care firm Creme of Nature, and being the face of Levi’s curvy marketing campaign. Despite her rising checklist of accomplishments, her need to assist others stays steadfast. It’s a ardour she has had since age 14, when she traveled to Kenya as a Save the Children consultant.
“It was the first time seeing kids from Somalia, from Sudan, from Cameroon, from Congo, from Kenya, and I just thought, ‘Wow, this is who we are.’ It sparked something inside of me and that’s when I knew; I’ve got to work for the United Nations one day,” she recalled.
That dream got here true in 2019, when she grew to become a consultant for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). In that position, she advocates for refugees throughout Africa by discipline missions.
“I remember the first time that I did a refugee camp visit in Malawi … that’s when I was like, ‘oh, this is what it is.’ I can be able to explain it better to people so that when we hear of the injustices in the world, we don’t think that we need to just stand up for whatever’s affecting us in our backyard. That it’s ok for you to lean into something that’s beyond your own borders,” she defined.
In addition to her work with UNHCR, Mbatha helps the worldwide advocacy group Global Citizen, specializing in schooling and gender equality. That mission additionally drives the Nomzamo Lighthouse Foundation, a nonprofit she based in 2015. She can also be a local weather advocate, turning into a global ambassador for Prince William’s Earthshot Prize in 2024.
“Climate action affects every single part of our lives, and if you think it doesn’t affect your life, then you are living a lie … I think it’s important … to be able to power those who are doing something, who are finding really significant and scalable solutions,” she stated.
Mbatha believes that as a result of she is a “product of charitable efforts” — having gotten the place she is due to the assist given to her as a baby from lecturers and from the bursary she used to attend college — that it’s her “moral duty” to assist others. “If I can be able to use my voice and use my platform to make that difference, then I know that I would have done something really significant with my life,” she stated.
As she continues that journey, Mbatha hopes to depart a legacy that can cement her place in historical past, identical to Queen Nandi.