Multi-talented entertainer Lukhanyo Bele, is proof that your dreams are valid and he couples all this with hard work and staying true to himself.
The entertainer who has cut his teeth in numerous Art avenues, is no stranger to our TV screens. Lukhanyo shot fame when he starred on eTV’s Shooting Stars and he has since worked on multiple shows.
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The Eastern Cape born actor recently had a chat with ZAlebs about his career and relocating to Austria.
“I am very inquisitive person, and I think it’s something I’ve always had in me. When we would go to the beach with my family and when everyone would be busy swimming, I would be wondering what’s over that water, and say I wanna go there,” he says.
Lukhanyo who is based in Austria said during high school he applied for cruise-ship jobs, because he wanted to just get up and he met someone who made his move come to life.
“I happened to meet an Australian woman who came to SA to study and then we dated. When she came back to Australia and at the time I was doing Shooting stars on eTV and then after that she asked me if I want to come to Europe and check it out, I said I’ve always wanted to travel so that how it happened,” he explains”
Image Cred: Provided
The 38 year old says he had a lot to overcome in the country including the language barrier and leaving his career in SA which was already booming.
“Where I am it’s a none English speaking country, English is at the minimum so I had to learn the language and obviously sacrifice a lot to what I’ve built in SA according to my CV as an actor. But the education I got in SA helped me a lot because immediately after a year I got an agency even with my bad German and I would go as far saying there was a demand for black actors that can speak German so that played in my favor.”
Lukhanyo says even though there are a few characters written for Black men in the country, he is getting gigs and he currently has a movie playing in Cinema.The actor recently produced his lockdown film The Ground Under. The film follows the life of Mike Stuckman, who is planning the funeral of his father and he also tries to resolve some family conflicts at the funeral.
The film features the likes of Andrea Dondolo, Leon Clingman, Shannon Esra and others who are part of the cast.
Speaking on how he decided to work on the film he says, “There was a call on Facebook from a well known filmmaker Tim Greee, when lock down began in March. Tim put up a post on on his Facebook page called Lockdown movie project 2020, that are any actors who would like to collaborate on something must work together and I did.”
Lukhanyo says he received an overwhelming response from the renowned actors who wanted to be part of the film. He says every character on the film is based upon his family, and the story-line is authentic because he wrote what i know he knows.
“I thought what would be intriguing about conducting a funeral online, that is a disaster already, through a family that is scattered across SA and don’t get a long and that is when the story was born.”
He says he wanted to create a story that people would still be able to laugh about than to only think about bad memories of the lockdown period.
The film was shot a video chat platform and it is set to be his biggest project. He says it was a process to direct others through a virtual platform, but because he worked with resilient people he managed to produce what he dream off.
“We would have virtual meeting and I will direct them through a video chat platfom. When we are done actors would then need to do a solo shoot with their own devices to make sure it’s 4k quality,and I would then have to look at the solo shoot to see if the actor executed what I said,” he explains.
Image Cred: Provided.
Lukhanyo says they encountered many challenges but they soldiered on.
“Wi-Fi would also be a problem, then we would have to wait until some have data or their internet connection stars working. Neighbors would make noise and you would find out that family members wants to occupy the space the actor is using”
The actor says they have had quiet an amazing feedback regarding their trailer and at the moment they are searching for distribution opportunities. Lukhanyo says actors have not been paid yet because, the first thing that you came into their minds was that they would be busy during the lockdown period.he film is set to be released in October and he says he will be releasing his new single this month and he reckons music will take him far in Austria.
Lukhanyo says his music career was inspired writing songs for his church choir when he was growing up. He says he didn’t want to do gospel but fell in love with Afro Beat.
“My single is about woman appreciation , with Zizo winning Miss Universe and woman not being appreciated and all these killings that are happening back at home I just wanted to create a single about woman appreciation and let me be a dance song and not be about a bad mood only,” he explains.
Lukhanyo has worked on numerous international films including 6 Underground and Mama Jack. He says working on 6 Underground was the highlight of his acting career.
“Working on Six Underground was a highlight of my entire career as an actor, to be on set and be directed by Michael Bay it was a great feeling and finding an opportunity to sit down with people like Ryan Reynolds and talk about SA was my highlight.”
He said if his dad was alive he would tell him he made it because he was directed by Michael Bay.
Lukhanyo says his future plan is to turn a factory his father to used to work into Television studios. The actor says he is already writing an SA dance film and a sitcom.
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