She's ready to take a bow. She's given everything to her character MaNgcobo. It's been seven years of lying, conniving, plotting, stealing and killing and she's ready for a change.
Dawn Thandeka King has been a good villain on Uzalo and she's done it all in her time.
Now she's moving on to her next project, a new telenovela DiepCity.
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“We don’t cry when we move on, we appreciate that we can move on to another opportunity. When you don’t become emotional about something, it is likely that you have done everything that you were supposed to do and you have served your purpose,” she tells Drum.
Everything is happening so quickly that she has not had time to reflect on the years that have been.
“I have had to move very fast to my next chapter. I am already shooting by the way,” she says.
At the time of the interview, she tried to keep it under-wraps, but the cat is out the bag.
Those who love her craft need not worry because she is about take it up a notch in the new crime thriller DiepCity, which will premiere on Mzansi Magic in April. Other leads on the cast are Nozuko Ncayiyane and actor Mduduzi Mabaso.
On the new show she plays Thandiwe, a domestic worker who is a protective mother who is bitter that her son was murdered.
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“My exit story (which is still playing out) is the most exciting thing I have shot in the history of Uzalo. It kind of revived me and I said to myself you have to be true to yourself one last time,” the KwaZulu-Natal actress says.
MaNgcobo has had some highs and lows. The storyline changed through the years and she had to adjust to what the writers needed her to be.
“I remember the first season was awesome, I was going to be to be part of an ensemble that was going to be long running production. We were all hungry and it took South Africa by storm especially people from the township, they just related to the storyline. At the time, none of us knew it was going to be as big as it is now,” she explains.
Dawn says she is one of the two original cast members left on the show. “Over the years we watched people go. It was painful but people have to go and grow,” she continues.
MaNgcobo was some sort of a sucker of love, no matter how dangerous she was. Who can forget the time she carried a gun to the altar? She forced Nkunzi played by Masoja Msiza, to marry her too which resulted in two women getting married to the same man that day.
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“The gun comes out to sort out nonsense. She relied on the gun so much,” Dawn says with a laugh.
As dramatic and memorable as that scene was, for Dawn it was really ‘a downer’ because MaNgcobo’s character had become a little tamed.
But fans still loved her, no matter what stunts she pulled. She became known as the ‘Queen Wase London’ on the streets, a term used to describe a beautiful lady in Umlazi. It's been just love for this villain, Dawn tells us.
“It is so weird. MaNgcobo has done the most horrible things, but I have not had anyone say or do something crazy and mean. They will tell me that they are not going to bath after hugging or being in contact with me,” she laughs.
“They show love and appreciate the work to a point that some believe it is real.”
