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Part 1: ZAlebs chats with Robert Whitehead
For many months ZAlebs has been hard at work trying to get a hold of South Africa's most loved soapie villian, Robert Whitehead who plays the role of "Barker Hains" in Isidingo. We are pleased to say we finally caught him and we are even more pleased to bring you this exclusive 2 part interview with the star.
“Isidingo”, 10 years later here you are…are you surprized that the show has lasted for 15 years?
15 years of the show running has been fantastic, you know things don’t last long in this industry especially in our country so 15 years is great!
Did you watch the re-run of the first episode?
Yes I did! It was interesting because I am friends with many of the cast members who were in Isidingo during its early years; actors such as Terrence Bridget (“Chico”) and Mark Graham who was directing Isidingo at the time. So we all gathered at his house and watched the first episode which was a great celebration session because I remember as up and coming actors we usually mentioned that if there was one show we’d love to be on it was Isidingo and Lord and behold five years later Isidingo writers created the Haines family and that marked the birth of Barker Haines and I was approached to act the role of Barker. They wanted me. I didn’t have to audition for the role which was quite cool because we had to shoot in less than a month. It was scary because it was the creation of a new family in the show and you’re the new guy that had to make it work for this new family but I enjoyed it thoroughly.
Being in the industry for 30 years what’s the one thing that hardly interests you now?
I’m over going out and about to every opening, to every show and to every other event. I’m completely over it and it’s tiring but I understand that there are certain events we should attend as it’s good for the business but there are just some events I feel are unnecessary to attend. I’m just not a great attender of these invitations that fill up my inbox.
Many people aren’t aware that you actually acted on Sarafina! as the crude officer who interrogated “Sarafina” whilst she was arrested at John Vorster Square…take us through that role and how it was acting in the most successful film ever produced in South Africa?
The role I played of that interrogating officer was just…he was really a disgusting hateful guy. (Cringes) but none-the-less being a part of that cast was very exciting and un-usual. Before Mbongeni Ngema moved Sarafina! To the theatre I was in a play that I had directed and Mbongeni had seen me before performing in that play and he then spoke to Darrell Roodt the director of Sarafina! And he had informed him that they wanted me to be the interrogating officer of the film which really took me by surprise. Mbongeni was determined that I play the role and of course I said that I would do it, I was surprised primarily because there were so many Afrikaans actors that they’ve could’ve chosen to play the role but they decided to choose me, an English man! I’d never played a role like that; people just didn’t cast me for such roles. So that was fantastic break for me and I loved playing that role it was a very powerful scene to act in and I happened to have a very staggering hangover that day which I think helped a lot it, kept me still and focused. The amazing thing was that at the opening premier of the film whilst we were leaving the theatre a lot of the guys who were in the film and even people who didn’t act in the film actually didn’t recognize me which was funny because I hadn’t changed my face I just had on those hideous metal reading glasses and slightly oiled hair, even Tertius Mentjies who played the role of “Lieutenant Bloem” was astonished, he looked at me with a bewildered face and said “It was you!”. So for me that was just a great moment in my acting career and I realised that I had done something right by accepting that role because I’ll be honest with you there aren’t many films I can say I’ve been proud to be in I’ve done an awful, awful lot of rubbish so I’m really glad I was in that film.
Do you still paint…?
I scribble really, I haven’t got to anything…I have this big door looking at me that I’m planning on working on but unfortunately there’s no masterpiece hanging on my wall yet. I painted a very beautiful door about two years ago, I have no idea what happened to it but we were delivered a door about a 100 of us across the country for the Save the Children Fund the door was delivered to me I worked on it and all these doors were sent on an exhibition to be sold. I worked very hard on that door unfortunately there was no follow up on the exhibition or which pieces were chosen to be exhibited or if the doors were even sold our doors just vanished off the face of the earth, but that was a beautiful door of some value that I worked on for many months and now I just have another blank one that I plan on scribbling on.
Is there anything Isidingo viewers should look out for in terms of Barker Haines role in the next couple of months?
Isidingo is looking great now, our whole lighting style has improved the look and feel of the show and I think it's going to get more exciting in terms of the story lines ..."Barker" is on his way out of just hanging around the Duncan Hotel and fighting with his wives and ex-wives. We're getting "Barker" back on the right path of power and glory which is where he needs to be and he'll be engaging much more with the "Sibeko's so that should be really interesting.
In part two of our conversation with Robert we find out what he thinks of TV, reality stars turning into actors and questions he would ask his favourite actor whilst being stuck in an elevator with them. Coming tomorrow!
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