Buntu Petse has officially made her mark on the small screen.
After her first breakout role in 2019 as the passionate young feminist Nontle Majola on Generations: The Legacy, Buntu booked the role of a lifetime in Netflix’s Miseducation.
The 26-year-old’s acting dreams have come true since her pursuit of an honour’s degree in dramatic arts, which she obtained from Wits University in 2019.
Currently starring as Mbali Hadebe, the spoiled 19-year-old aspiring influencer and daughter of a disgraced minister (played by Baby Cele), Buntu’s character moves to Makhanda to attend the fictional Grahamstown University.
Starring alongside familiar faces like Lunga Shabalala and Dawn Thandeka King, Buntu’s bubbly personality shines through as she shares with TRUELOVE how she got the role.
“[I] got a call from my agent saying there’s this role and I just knew it … Project YA but that’s Project Young Adult. So, I thought that was the name I was like yeah, I can’t wait to be part of Project YA, let’s go. Went for auditions, got callbacks, I was elated. Only to get callbacks again and again and again and I think I went to six callbacks. And I remember just feeling a bit defeated but trying to put my best foot forward whenever I was there in front of the camera auditioning.
“And I remember the call. I was at work and got a call from my agent and she was like, ‘Baby girl, you got it!’ And I just remember breaking down, needing to call my mother ASAP, because I had been going on and on to her about just feeling a bit of imposter syndrome, not sure if I can take on this role and I called her then and she was like, ‘You see, God makes no mistakes.’”
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Acting has always been a profession that Buntu knew she needed to infiltrate and with the help of her mother, she made it.
“Luckily, I have a mother who is my biggest cheerleader, my mentor, my guide, and she said ‘Honey, whatever you want to do, we’re going to do it, but you got to be the best of that’.
“So, she put me in acting schools growing up, I went to auditions growing up and I think that equipped me with that sort of discipline as well as the hunger and passion for what I’m doing. So, by the time I went to tertiary, it really just made all the sense.”
Buntu embodies her characters to a tee and with Mbali, she sees herself in the strong-willed and determined character that she is.
“I’m learning from her though, I’m learning not to judge her,” Buntu reveals.
“It’s made me establish myself a bit more. She’s someone who knows what she wants, she goes after it. Yes, she’s a bulldozer at times to get what she wants and sometimes the moment calls for that. Sometimes you can’t be nice about it, you’ve just got to grab what’s yours. So, ya, I think that’s where we differ quite a lot but I’m learning nonetheless.”
One point of conversation that tends to arise when it comes to shows or films around teenagers and young adults, is the subject of adults playing teenagers.
Sharing her thoughts on this sentiment, Buntu says, “I did ask myself, growing up especially, when I was just an audience member in this industry and not in it as yet. But once you get in it, I think I learnt something insightful and that is I feel like education is really really important and it shouldn't be put in the back burner or made to be secondary once you're in it and that's what young people should be focusing on.
“Yes, if you can get a role that can work around your schedule, that’s great but most times it’s not that way. School needs to fit around your acting schedule. But if you have adults who can pass as younger people but have the professionalism, the experience as well as the time to do the work, then I think I would opt for that as well.”
Quite the talented novice in the entertainment industry, Buntu hopes to live a more well-rounded existence that sees her feeding different parts of her passions and soul through music, dancing and art.
“I think now the goal is to perfect the trifecta, mind, body and soul. What we do is quite exhausting. It takes a toll, especially when you’re basically pretending to be another person and I think that in order to just stay true to who you are when you’re off camera, it requires that discipline to constantly check in with yourself. And, if I’m being honest, I have been neglecting that and I think that’s something that I need to look into and perfect.”
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With a bright future ahead of her in the acting world, Buntu sees herself someday playing an undercover detective role. She shares that she uses the practical and holistic advice that her mentor shared with her to propel her character.
“If you want to move people in a crying scene, try not to cry. Hold back the tears. And that blew my mind and I’ve never looked back. But on a more holistic front, uMam’ Baby Cele once said to me … always feed your co-star. Always be present.
“And by feed, I mean, if the camera is on you and not on your co-star you’re obviously going to perform because that’s your moment to shine. But that moment to shine doesn’t end once the camera goes on to your co-star. You give just as great of a performance – I think even more – to evoke emotions from them so that their moment to shine is just as shining.”
