Thuso Mbedu stunned the masses with her performance as Nawi on The Woman King. She toured several countries and she made it a point to visit South Africa, as her home country.
Thuso wrote an Essay which was featured on Elle and in there she expressed her excitement on having to share the moment with her home country.
“There is no world in which not going back to South Africa to experience The Woman King with my kinfolk is an option,” Thuso started out.
She then added how excited she was to have South Africa recognised on the global map.
"As a South African, I know first-hand that Africans perpetually feel tossed aside by international media when it comes to film promotion. Numerous reasons have been cited, from the distance travelled to claims that our market just isn’t big enough. But these reasons were not enough to stop me from experiencing this one-in-a-lifetime event on home soil, because this is the type of movie I wish I could’ve seen while growing up.
"I also knew that the energy the local audiences would bring would simply be unmatched. Our director, Gina Prince-Bythewood, has spoken about how integral it was to shoot the film on the African continent. One of our most memorable shoot days proved her point: we had a huge scene to cover with almost all the actors on set that day," added Mbedu.
Mbedu then spoke about how the experience was when it started raining, "There were a lot of moving parts and the worst thing that could happen did: it started raining. Ushered to the shelter, we waited…and then voices started rising…then the drums joined…soon enough, bodies were in the center of the square, singing and dancing in the rain.
"The energy was magnetic. Everyone was elated. It was unlike anything our visitors had ever experienced, and it confirmed to our director that she had made the right decision in bringing this story home. When we started rolling again, Gina was able to tap back into that energy in a scene where Izogie, played brilliantly by Lashana Lynch, goes head-to-head with a male soldier, spears piercing through their shoulders, to see who will show pain and weakness first. Izogie won. Everything about that moment was amazing."
Mbedu is proudly South African ands she openly and proudly speaks about her heritage and where she comes from.
Thuso was named as one of the Best Actors Of The Year by The New York Times.
She thanked her South African fans for the support, “I now have a moment to pause and reflect…This was day 1 of the South African press tour. It was amazing. I don’t actually have the words to describe the experience. Thank you to those who joined us at Warrior Training; to NSA, @savethechildrensouthafrica, Daliwonga Secondary School and the Wits School of Arts for having us, " she said.
“Dear South Africa, You showed up in an amazing way for me and the cast of The Woman King. May you do for others as you did for me. Blessings on blessings to you. I pray that you get to fully live out your dreams.”
