A young talent with the world in her palm, Ntando Duma has made a decision that will impact the trajectory of her acting career.
Whether the movement of that trajectory will rise or fall will be told by time but Ntando Duma is excited for the prospects of the future in her upcoming role in_The Queen_ S5.
Ntando Duma snubs Isono for a role on The Queen
As reported by Sowetan, Duma was slated to feature in the upcoming telenovela Isono: The Sin, South Africa’s first soapie to feature on BET Africa.
The acquisition was a done deal but in the eleventh hour, Duma turned down the opportunity to join the likes of Nthati Moshesh, Rami Chuene and Natasha Thahane to join the Fergusons’ soapie.
In her own words, Duma admitted that it was a very difficult decision to make but her vision board led her in the right direction.
“The Queen made more business sense for me than the other show. I’m glad that we parted ways (with Clive Morris Productions) on a peaceful note. I’m a lead on The Queen and the schedule is tight – it would not have worked,” she said.
How the Fergusons pulled off the 11th-hour acquisition
Duma chose longevity over a role in a telenovela that is set to hit the international market in July. We’ve not seen the contracts but we can speculate that the decision was not motivated by income.
The young talent has been busy with her hosting gigs on Channel O’s Lockdown House Party and MTV Base’s Gqom Nation events to worry too much about a flailing bank balance.
We also understand that she had auditioned for a role in the soapie but was snubbed by Sibusisiwe Jili for the role of Georgina (a policewoman in The Queen).
This disappointment, however, opened up a greater opportunity that she could not pass on.
“I was so bummed that I didn’t get it, only to find out that God has planned a bigger opportunity for me. So they called me for a meeting via Zoom and to discuss a possible role that will be suitable for me.
“We had that discussion and I got hired on the spot because they had already seen my audition when I tried for Georgina,” she revealed.
Duma will join new recruit Rapulana Seiphemo and Jessica Nkosi on the filming of The Queen S5 in July and it is something she is excited about.
“I’m very excited and looking forward to it. Rapulana is such an incredible actor and we grew up watching him on screen doing all these amazing characters that he has played,” Duma exclaimed.