Model-cum-actor Stevel Marc is set to debut his most charming and dubious role yet on daily drama Scandal!.
The 40-year-old Jamaican-born star is coming off making a huge splash as Yasopp in the international adventure series, One Piece, which in August delivered impressive ratings for Netflix’s debut records that Stranger Things and Wednesday previously set. The series was filmed in Cape Town, with appearances by other SA-based actors Ntlanhla Morgan Kutu, Chioma Umeala and Nicole Fortuin.
Tonight, Marc will make his debut on the e.tv soapie as Sanka Myrie, a character that allowed him to act and speak in English while mixing with his mother tongue of Jamaican patois.
“What I love most about this role is that the production gave me the freedom to breath life into this role. They wanted me to translate it as best and as authentic as possible by allowing me to speak in Jamaican,” he said.
“Sanka is like one of the most misunderstood people in society. He brings more of a realistic aspect to the circles he is in. Yes, he will bring commotion to someone’s marriage but he feels that one has to follow their heart to be with the person who makes them feel whole… I guess viewers will have to see what else unfolds.”
Marc grew up in Portland, Jamaica. His first feature film role was in the internationally acclaimed Of Good Report, followed by other prolific productions such as The Mauritanian, Happiness Is a Four-letter Word and Black Sails.
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“I’ve been calling SA my home for 20 years. I can be in SA for six months and then head out to LA for another six months. I usually come back here because of the acting and modelling gigs my agent lands me,” he said.
“I’ve embraced how I always get gigs that bring me back here, a place I call home.”
Before his acting career took off, Marc first moved to SA when he was 16 in 2001 for his very first modelling gig.
“I remember being in awe of this country the first time I came here. I was just a teen who was from Jamaica and America. I remember thinking how slow everything this side was because I was from a fast-paced world [US] and somehow, I recall telling myself to embrace the experience and the warm and loving people out here,” he said.
“I joined the South African modelling industry when it was starting to take form. At the time it was an emerging market and I was in a great spot to be in. I went from shooting magazine adverts to television commercials.
“I grew from commercials to having roles on television and film… I actually tend to think all these skill sets that I acquired opened the doors to the other.”