South African personalities continiue to make waves on a global stage. Trevor Noah continues to crawl into the hearts of millions as the host of Comedy Central’s popular ‘The Daily Show’, ‘My Octopus Teacher’ took home an Oscar in the Best Documentary category and now, local actress Thuso Mbedu has revealed that she will star alongside Viola Davis in the upcoming feature film ‘The Woman King’.
Thuso has had an amazing start to the year. She will star in the upcoming Amazon original series ‘The Underground Railroad’ when it premieres on 14 May and now, she’s scored an exciting role in the upcoming feature film ‘The Woman King’ where she will appear alongside Academy Award-winning actress Viola Davis.
The film is inspired by true events that took place in The Kingdom of Dahomey. The kingdom was one of the most powerful states in Africa during the 18th and 19th centuries and has a rich history full of beautiful and powerful stories.
The movie centres around Nanisca, General of the all-female military unit, and Nawi, an ambitious recruit, who join forces to fight enemies who have violated their honour, enslaved their people, and threatened to destroy everything they’ve lived for.
“The depth and complexity of emotional life, her authentic beauty, and regalness is potent. We were mesmerized by Thuso Mbedu. We wanted Woman King / Nawi to be the vehicle to introduce her on the big screen,” Viola Davis and Julius Tennon of JuVee Productions said in a statement announcing the film.
Mbdeu grew up in Pehlam in KZN and matriculated in Pietermaritzburg Girls’ High School and has already been nominated for two Emmy awards for her work on the local series ‘Is’Thunzi’.
