Sizwe Sibiya
It is every actor’s dream to go to America let alone to star in a Hollywood sequel of a megahit.
Nomzamo Mbatha, who played Thandeka Zungu on South Africa’s favourite television drama series Isibaya, is done dreaming. She is living it.
The 30-year-old star from Durban KwaMashu plays Mirembe in Coming 2 America.
It is a sequel to one of the biggest comedy hits of all time, Coming to America, which starred Eddie Murphy as an African prince who travels to New York and goes undercover to find a wife that he can respect for her intelligence and strong will.
Coming 2 America again features Eddie Murphy as Prince Akeem along with some of the former cast such as Wesley Snipes and veteran actor James Earl Jones.
But this time there’s a bit more real Africa, including Ghanian Michael Blackson and Nomzamo whose character Mirembe lives at the royal house of the fictional kingdom as the royal groomer.
Nomzamo who starred in a number of notable South African movies and television dramas told BBC that, this being her international studio movie debut, the director made her feel welcome by making sure that everyone pronounced her name correctly. Being on set with big stars felt like a master class.
“I would not even sit in my trailer,” said Nomzamo.
“I’ll be like, I am here to learn. This is a master class ohk, Hollywood royalty through and through.”
Picture source: @NomzamoMbatha
Video source: YouTube
