Gugu Gumede’s latest role in The Polygamist feels like a defining moment in a career that has already cemented her as one of South Africa’s most recognisable screen talents.
From becoming a household name as MaMlambo on Uzalo to starring in productions such as Generations, eHostela, Isiphetho, The Last Victims and Netflix‘s Umjolo: The Gone Girl, Gumede has consistently brought emotional depth and presence to her roles but Joyce Gomora may be her most layered yet.
Joyce, played by Gumede, is the picture of control and perfection. To the outside world and to her loyal social media followers, she represents curated couple and family goals. But behind the image is a woman desperately trying to hold together a reality that is slipping through her fingers. Adapted from Sue Nyathi’s acclaimed novel, The Polygamist premieres on 12 June on Netflix, led by standout performances from Gugu Gumede and Sdumo Mtshali as Joyce and Jonasi Gomora.
Ahead of the series premiere, Xabiso Ngqabe sat down with the actress to discuss Joyce’s emotional journey, working alongside Sdumo Mtshali and why she believes The Polygamist is such a beautifully told story.
Joyce is such an interesting character because even when she’s hurting, she works hard to maintain the image of having it all together. What did you find most compelling about her emotional journey?
That’s the beauty of it. There are moments in our lives that we can mask and we can forge our way through for social media. But then there are gut wrenching moments that force you to sit down and have a look at yourself and have a one-on-one conversation with yourself.
So you saw the journey with Joyce, from the very beginning, when it was all about the glitz and the glam. But as the story unfolds, you see her growth and journey, having it be about her family, her children’s well being, and maintaining the sanity within her kids’ lives. You watch her transform into a lioness fiercely guarding her cubs, and that growth was incredibly rewarding to portray.
How interesting was it to portray someone like her in today’s social media age?
So it was also just nice to portray the truth of so many people out there. The people that we love to love and love to hit that follow button on social media for. We admire them because they seem so different; they’re something we aspire to be. We see aspirational content.
So many people are like that, and it was lovely and fun to actually portray that because there was one name we kept mentioning, saying, ‘This reminds us of this person.’ We should never say who it is, of course, but whenever I did all of this, it reminded us of that person. And that makes it fun when you know someone who’s like that, because then you realise this is real this is actually happening. Yeah, so that’s always fun.
The relationship between Joyce and Jonasi is incredibly layered. One moment she’s ready to walk away, and the next she’s deeply in love with the same man who has hurt her. How did you and Sdumo Mtshali build that chemistry on screen?
The chemistry was easy with this amazing actor. What a great scene partner. It was easy for us to go there because we trusted one another completely. We’d often have moments before filming, especially before the big scenes, where we’d warm up together, breathe together, do breathing exercises and really prepare each other emotionally before stepping into the scene. That level of trust really matters when you’re building chemistry as actors. And also prayer. It was spiritually charged. God was with us. God gave us this from the very beginning.
Jonasi does some terrible things throughout the story, but do you think he’s simply a villain, or is he a man whose unresolved issues eventually catch up with him?
I actually feel like there’s no way that a person can jump from one to hundred that quickly. It was definitely there all along, but it may have been in a contained manner. Like, the wife doesn’t find out. And then, like anything and any person in life, you just begin to be sloppy at some point and not care to be caught. However, what constitutes a villain is their deliberate maliciousness – so yes, I do believe he is a flawed human being who simply becomes a villain in the lives of all he touches.
What stood out to you most about how the story is told?
First of all, the story is told so immaculately. I must commend the writers. It’s just told so beautifully. I have to give props to our film score composer, Zethu Mashika, who just moved you. I’ve always maintained that he’s one of the best film scorers in Africa. It was just so beautiful, and how it was lit, how the scoring was done.
Produced by Stained Glass Productions, The Polygamist boasts an impressive creative team, with Busisiwe Zwane serving as head writer and Rolie Nikiwe, Nthabi Tau and Akin Omotoso directing. The cast also includes Kwanele Mthethwa, Sthandiwe Kgoroge, Luyanda Zwane, Celeste Ntuli, Vuyo Biyela, Lwazie Keith Tsebesha, Kenneth Nkosi, Wonder Ndlovu and Noluthando Shabalala.
The Polygamist, Netflix’s new 22-episode supernovela, will debut on 12 June and will surely have everyone talking. Mark your calendars and follow #ThePolygamist on the socials.
