Actress and producer Sonia Mbele. Picture: Instagram
Another instalment of MacG’s Podcast and Chill has gone viral on social media, and this week’s guest star is actress and producer Sonia Mbele.
The actress got the chance to share some memories from her past, talk about her on-screen and off-screen relationship with the late Menzi Ngubane, and reveal how she has managed to stay relevant as an actress in the entertainment industry.
ALSO READ: Arts community mourns loss of Menzi Ngubane
When asked by MacG if she has ever had any romantic relationships with her co-workers and co-stars, Sonia said that she had never experienced it, adding that she did not have the time to get into a relationship or date at the moment because of her busy acting and producing schedule.
MacG then asked if Sonia and Menzi had ever had a relationship outside of their on-screen marriage, and Sonia expressed how she and Ngubane had always kept their relationship professional, and that they never had anything going on outside of the set on Generations.
“We never. Not even once. Like to a point where we say goodbye and we respect each others’ spaces. I would not call him at home ever. There were boundaries that should not be crossed and we never crossed one single one.
“It was highly professional. The minute they call it wrap, you go that way. You lose that person’s number. Even if there’s something you need, you’d rather go via production,” said the actress.
Sonia revealed on the podcast that she came from humble beginnings. She said her mother was unemployed for many years, and that she and her family grew up very poor.
“My childhood was poor. I grew up very poor. My mom at some point was unemployed for many years,” said the producer.
She then spoke about how she went out to get help from someone in her community to create her first CV, and she took her CV with her from shop to shop to look for a job, which she eventually found at a Truworths branch.
“I walked from this shop to this shop and they would be like ‘awukho umsebenzi, no help wanted’. Then I walked in at Truworths and I found the security guy at the gate and I was like ‘listen I was here the other day. I was asked to bring my CV. I’m looking for this supervisor’… and that’s when I got my gig as a working class,” said the actress.
MacG, real name Macgyver Mukwevho, asked Sonia how she managed to stay relevant for this long in the industry, and Sonia revealed that she did not really know.
She went on to say that she just wakes up and shows up where she is expected to show up.
“I wake up, and I put on a little bit of base and powder and I show up,” she said.
Download our app and read this and other great stories on the move. Available for Android and iOS.
