New kykNET doccie profiles the man behind the legend, Frank Opperman

Frank Opperman is a chameleon who was just as convincing as the tormented reverend in Dominee Tienie as he was as the bumbling mechanic Ouboet in Orkney snork nie. His portrayal of these beloved characters has made him a national treasure – as iconic as that jingle from years gone by: “Rugby, braaivleis, sunshine and Chevrolet.”

Frank doesn’t just play a role, he becomes the character – as with Pa Lourens in the acclaimed series Nêrens, Noord Kaap, where he overwhelmed viewers and moved them to tears with his achingly honest performance. Now, Frankie Opperman, director and Frank’s son, has made an intimate and timely documentary series about his father. This series, simply titled Frank, consists of three episodes, and it is as unadorned and direct as Frank himself.

In the first episode, Frankie meets his dad in Woodstock, Cape Town, where he has carved out a new life for himself over the past few years. With Frank, always unable to sit still, there’s also a visit to the set of a new series. In the second episode, father and son take the road to Johannesburg. On the way north, they pop in on colleagues and friends, and they make a detour to the nearly forgotten Oppermansdorp, halfway between nothing and nowhere in the Free State. Upon their arrival in Gauteng, visits to family, friends and co-workers follow, and then it’s time for the final big pack-up in Melville, where Frank lived for more than 20 years. Among boxes and boxes of archive material, Frank takes stock of his life.

Frank makes it clear that he doesn’t want to dwell in the past. There are still many things he wants to tackle, but, he says: “It was good for me to be able to look back at what I’ve done up to now at 65.” He says the boxes of memories forced him to go through everything and sift out what is truly valuable. “One doesn’t look at this kind of stuff every day. Going through the boxes and looking at photos and things my mother put in an album over all the years was like discovering many things all over again. Here and there it got quite emotional.”

For Frankie, it was a challenge at times to tell his father’s life story, precisely because the two of them share a close bond. “He’s your dad, and of course you don’t want to tarnish his legacy, but you also want to take him to emotional places and ask questions that might be uncomfortable. We tried to do something different with this documentary, and hopefully viewers will see and appreciate the honesty with which this doccie has been approached.”

For Frankie too, it was a very emotional experience to delve into the family history. He was already familiar with some of the anecdotes, but also heard quite a few new tales. “There are some hilarious stories, but also stories of heartache and pain.” For Frankie, the candour his father brought to the doccie is something special. He wears his heart on his sleeve and is always just himself: a guy without an ego and with a lot of flaws, like all of us, but at the same time someone with a soft heart who is beloved by his fellow artists, family and fans.”

How did Frank experience this time spent with his son?

“What a privilege to be able to do this with my son and to try to show him what I’ve seen in my life so far. I hope viewers will see we all go through the same things – and acting is just another job, and it’s not nearly as glamorous as people think it is. And hopefully I’ll do enough worthwhile work in the future for another doccie.”

Frank begins on Wednesday 18 February at 20:00 on kykNET (DStv channel 144) and will also be available on DStv Stream and Catch Up.