A catch-up with actress Brenda Ngxoli about the series The No 1 Ladies' Detective Agency. Brenda plays sletty housekeeper Florence Pheko.
The show's based on the books of the same name by Alexander McCall Smith and the story's set in Botswana. The action centres round Mma Ramotswe ...
Played by American soul and R&B muso Jill Scott
...a divorced gal-about-town who decides to set up a detective agency with cash that she inherits from her father.
The show's produced by the BBC and HBO and was filmed on location in Botswana - the first international show to be filmed there - and features a combo cast of international and South African actors including:
Tumisho Masha as Lucky Sesana: tight with Mma Ramotswe's ex-husband and a ruthless attorney at law
Desmond Dube as BK, haidresser/sign painter and Mma Ramotswe's confidante
and Brenda Ngxoli as Florence Pheko, a sletty housekeeper who spends all her time causing trouble instead of working.
She arrives on the scene in Episode 4.
I caught up with her at a screening of the show on Thursday, at the bar at Mamatambo's in downtown Linden ... ! don't let the coffee deceive you - it was simply to coffee-chase our booze.
Tashi: You play Florence who’s gonna arrive on the scene and cause trouble between Mma Ramotswe and Matekoni?
Mma Ramotswe and JLB Matekoni (played by Brit. actor Lucian Msamati ) - a dude who gets very "helpful" when she moves into town to detectivise.
Brenda: Yes - where I come in is that their relationship starts consolidating in the opening episodes. I’m the housekeeper to Matekoni - he’s a windower - but
I don’t do anything, I drink and hang around - it’s a very fun character - I thoroughly enjoyed it.
Mma Ramotswe and Matekoni have a dinner together and I come straight out and cause trouble between them because I don’t want her challenging my place.
Tashi: How did you get the role? Was it an audition process?
Brenda: Yes, Moonyeen Lee (the casting director on the show), she's my agent, I auditioned and got a callback and then I got cast - it was exciting, it was my first international role.
You get your own dialogue coach, trailer, driver - those types of things that make you go “Wow”. I got a very good idea what it feels like to work on a major show. It was really an eye-opener and surprisingly I’ve started getting fan-mail from the US.
Brenda with "friend" Baphumze Zamxaka - both said they were JF (just friends) but as you can see they were inseperable.
Tashi: Do you have to kiss anyone in the show?
Brenda: Sort of, my boyfriend in the storyline is
Mduduzi Mabaso, he’s Suffocate in Rhythm City, he’s absolutely brilliant that guy.
Tashi: So you do have to kiss him?
Brenda: Well, yee-ees. You know kissing is one of those things that’s easy - the character development is much more difficult. When you have the character down it happens naturally. Letting go of all your own inhibitions and your own understanding of life and things to get into the character is much more difficult.
Like the clothes I wore, the skirt was so short and Jill Scott would say “Girrrrl, I can see your ass. It’s an African ass but I can still see it.” And to realise it’s not you but the character. I kept wanting to pull it down but then I was like “hey”.
Tashi: What did you do at night in between filming? Hang out? Learn your lines?
Brenda: Well Jill was pregnant at the time so she couldn't hang out. We stayed at hotel’s - once you go once or twice you get to know Botswana so you can choose where you’d like to stay.
When I went the first time I stayed at a guest house but when I went back the second time I stayed at a hotel-casino. Also when I was out out there I didn’t want to stay out all night, you try to find a balance: waking up, not having bags under your eyes, get enough sleep, make sure you know your lines and then after that having fun.
Tashi: Did you get paid well?
Brenda: *
Laughs* Definitely we got paid much better than we would have in South Africa. I don’t want to lie. I’m always one who says “Life is good because I’m not on the street but life can always be better because I’d like to own more than one mansion.” Not that I own one but life can always be better.
My mother’s a domestic worker, I grew up as a domestic workers child, people I went to school with, some of their lives are not in order - I always said I’m not going to be this, I’m going to try, I could defintely add another two zero’s *
laughs*.
You know one of the things in my life, everywhere I’ve been, every step I’ve taken in my life, it’s because of somebody. When I finished filming the show I wrote an e-mail to all the people on it to say thank you - there was always somebody there to make my life easier.
I’ve been nominated for awards so many times and I’ve never gotten one, *
laughs* and I’ve always said that one day when I win one I’ll say that it’s because of other people - a person is a person because of other people.
It is hard to come from nothing and be something, it’s really hard, it’s not a joke and for me, one of the thing’s I’m working on is a roadshow to go to the rural areas, I’m looking for sponsorship for it - when you come from such an area you just need someone to say “We see you,” “We’re rooting for you” “You can do it.” “We are watching you shine.”
Brenda in one of many OMG/Bathong! moment's - she says it all the time.
Fast FactsThere's a possibility that the show will get a second season.
Brenda's t-oes (toes and shoes):
I don't believe a word
all actors have to say about da smooch - they all claim it's so non-eventful but I just don't see that it is.
For more about the show and the cast, check out TVSA's Mini Site:
The No 1 Ladies' Detective Agency.