Thatoyamodimo Motlanye is a 21-year-old actress from the North West Province's Dinokana village in Zeerust. She believes she is an ambitious, modest and kind person who values people and embodies the proverb, "It takes a village to raise a child".
After finishing high school, Motlanye joined Mmabana Arts and Culture, where she discovered herself and had the opportunity to practice her craft. She then relocated to Johannesburg and enrolled at the City varsity school of Media and creative arts, where she studied professional acting for camera and theatre at the Market Theatre laboratory. She graduated last year.
She said that after going through a difficult period and dark era, she only recently began to see some light in her work. "In August 2022, I received a call from the South African Arts & Culture Youth Forum organisation informing me that I was chosen for a six-week film internship," she said.
Soon after, she could not remain in Joburg due to a lack of employment, but she was recruited for a small role in a Netflix film titled Miss Fits, which was her first gig out of school.
"After that, I realised that your calling would continue to call you, and it will make room for you, as my calling continued to call me even when I tried to avoid it by studying social work or psychology instead of acting," she said.
Early this year, she filmed the third season of MTV's Shuga Down South, which, according to her, was the crowning achievement of her career acting. She then participated in "The Masked Singer" reality show as a stage usher for performers and earlier, she filmed an advertisement for the programme "Deal or No Deal".
Thatoyamodimo says what she loves most about her work is the art of storytelling, the desire to tell authentic stories that occur in our communities, and the fact that actors can portray different characters and step out of their comfort zones to become whomever they want.
"Getting to portray another life is psychological and difficult. You need to know that person deeply, their trials and circumstances, past, and objectives, put yourself in your character's shoes, know how they feel, and be authentic, real and natural. Acting requires talent, discipline, and hard work. I always say that nobody has faith like actors because they believe and have faith that the character they portray come to life, and that alone says that acting is magical," she said.
Motlanye asserted that what set her apart, was the passion and love with which she approached her work and her constant pursuit of telling authentic stories, perseverance, mastering her craft, discipline, confidence and strategy.
She considered being a part of the Masked Singer show her most significant accomplishment, as it was her first reality show in which she shared the stage with many famous artists and learned a great deal about the behind-the-scenes processes.
She felt this job allowed one's spirit to breathe, have fun, be confident and creative, even though finances and rejection have been her most significant challenges.
Motlanye believed the most important skills an actor should have, are listening, creative reading, writing, improvising, teamwork, a learning spirit, consistency, flexibility to learn other arts like dancing and multilingualism.
"I wish people could start acting as a career for others, a calling and respect it. I hope people stop seeing acting as a fallback career when unemployed because you need to learn a lot before becoming an actor," she said, while advising against clout chasing.
She believed that the North West Province has done well by creating art spaces like Mmabana Art and Culture, which has produced many successful actors and actresses, but believes that art in the province is not growing due to a lack of space, theatres, opportunities and support.
She is constantly active with her side enterprises and invests in entrepreneurship when not on set.
Motlanye advised young people who want to work in the entertainment industry to research it before joining, network, understand why they want to work there. They must have enthusiasm and never allow others to put them down, she concluded.
