How many people can you name that have turned down an opportunity to be in a Hollywood production by heavy hitter Christopher Nolan?
That list will be paper thin and actor-cum-politician Fana Mokoena will earn a spot on it.
Mokoena was in negotiations to join Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway and Jessica Chastain in Nolan’s 2014 blockbuster Interstellar.
The sci-fi thriller had a reported budget of $165m and grossed $701.8m at the box office. But Mokoena turned Nolan down for a shot in politics. Such a move gives an inkling of how dead set Mokoena was on being part of the revolutionary movement.
The 50-year-old served as an EFF MP between August 2016 and October last year. He also served as a delegate to the National Council of Provinces from May 2014 until August 2016.
Mokoena reclines backwards on a sofa and breaks into laughter when I ask if it’s true that he turned down Nolan. We are lounging in the living room of the newly built set for his Scandal! character that will see him return to acting for the first time in eight years.
“I won’t put it like that. I didn’t say no because I made my decision before the decision on the other side had been made that I should take the part,” Mokoena explains, leaning forward. “We hadn’t signed any contracts and we hadn’t done anything. It was a discussion that was being had, but I was going to play that part.”
Mokoena was living any local actor’s Hollywood dream when he transitioned into politics. He had booked roles in World War Z, opposite Brad Pitt and in Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom with Idris Elba, and many others.
He takes a pause to find the right words before he describes the decision to leave it all behind as the “most difficult decision of his life”.
“Purely because I was in the top 50 African actors who were breaking into Hollywood. There were projects that I had to let go, which could have propelled me to the next level. So, you can imagine having had such a long career and having to break it at its peak was not the easiest thing.”
Despite the highs and lows of his political career in the past eight years, Mokoena holds no regrets.
“The highs for me were on the ground, the work that nobody ever found out about, as well as building branches, regions and regional structures,” Mokoena shares.
“The lows are that there is no money there. Your money goes towards building the organisation because we are so passionate.
The lows are that there is no money there. Your money goes towards building the organisation because we are so passionate
“The organisation didn’t have money and we had to literally spend every cent that we got from anywhere, including the money from parliament. We had to spend it on building the organisation and it became an extremely lonely and poor time.”
Mokoena believes that his turn in politics also made him a better artist. He now serves on the party's central command team.
“The responsibilities are lessened and the organisation has given me their blessing to go do as I please. That’s why I came back to acting.
“It’s the most productive thing that I have ever done, especially for my personal growth in understanding the world that we live in. But also as an artist because there are many things that we miss in this industry within the bigger body of politics and of the world that creatives work in.
“It has helped and strengthened me to be able to move forward with greater knowledge of how the entire industry should work.”
Mokoena admits that he was nervous to get back on set to play Vukile Kubeka. Making his debut on the e.tv soapie today, he will play opposite Slindile Nodangala, Sihle Ndaba and Melusi Mbele.
“The problem with me is that I’m always anxious about this kind of work. But the stakes were higher this time because you always questioning if you can still do this,” Mokoena confesses.
“This character is something exciting that you can sink your teeth in. I needed a character that would get me into the work ethic, meaning understanding character and doing research.”
Mokoena sees himself as more than an actor, but rather a creator. He also draws, paints and writes.
He has come a long way from Kroonstad, Free State, where he was born. He started acting at the Market Theatre in Newtown, Johannesburg, when he was in high school. Mokoena was cast in a play based on the same story as There's a Zulu On My Stoep, but using a different name. He calls it an “extremely important project” for him and it remains one of his key works.
After obtaining a degree in theatre and performance at the University of Cape Town, he worked at The Playhouse for two years. He regards that as another period of doing “great work” that laid a foundation for his career.
The UK’s Channel Four series The Line, about the battle between the ANC and the IFP, was a game changer for Mokoena in 1993. Vusi Kunene was the lead in the show. When I mention that Kunene cited in a Sowetan interview a month ago that Mokoena was his favourite actor, he blushes and politely retorts that Kunene is also his favourite actor.
Khululeka, with the sublime Joe Mafela, was another standout for him. Yizo Yizo came next, before the role that made him a household name, as Dr Mandla Sithole in Generations.
“Everybody remembers Generations and funny enough — and I say this with great respect — it’s the least important work I have ever done. I enjoyed it, playing with Connie [Ferguson] and Sello [Maake kaNcube],” Mokoena says.
“Sello has been my hero before I even started working. So, it was nice to be working with these people but not by any means and feat the most important thing I have done.”
Of all his international roles that include Hotel Rwanda, Machine Gun Preacher, Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, Safe House and The Book of Negroes, zombie blockbuster World War Z remains his favourite.
“It gave me the sense of the international filmmaking space within the international world. We do international work here in SA, but it was nice to be plugged out of the country without me going out there to look for the work,” Mokoena says.
Fact file: Fana Mokoena
Favourite Actors: Vusi Kunene
Favourite TV show: Designated Survivor
Favourite musician: Moses Molelekwa
Favourite song: Not Yet Uhuru by Letta Mbulu
Favourite food: Bread
Favourite emoji: smiling face with rosy cheeks
Top three movies on my playlist:
The Usual Suspects
Snatch
Glengarry Glen Ross
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