Busi Kondleka benefited from her persistence and tenacity to land herself a role in one of SA’s biggest and longest-running soapies, Generations: The Legacy, on SABC 1.
She plays the character of Melokuhle, a young women’s rights activist among acting industry giants, whose character was first presented earlier in December.
“I feel that Melokuhle was written by God and this character is me. Generations is a place I wanted to be, so landing this role is a dream come true.
“I got the call on September 25, on my birthday. I was over the moon,” Kondleka said.
Previously, she had landed a role in the Mzansi Magic hit series, Isithembiso, while still holding down a 9-5 job at a medical company doing PR.
“I have been fortunate enough to have a boss who allowed me to attend my auditions. I landed the Isithembiso role in February 2019. It went quiet after that until this call in September,” she said.
Kondleka is a former head girl at West Bank High School and relocated to Cape Town to pursue her higher education studies.
“I went to study public relations and communications at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT) and then moved to Johannesburg to pursue a career in the entertainment industry,” she said.
To build her acting CV, she took on roles in commercials, music videos and short films and joined the Star Quality Management agency in Johannesburg.
“I have an accredited certificate in drama which I pursued while studying PR.
“I would advise someone wanting to pursue this path to have an acting coach and read up as much as possible on your craft,” Kondleka said.
Talking about her future aspirations, she said she would like to reach the international stage in her career.
“I would love to work with Tyler Perry. There is also still a lot of room to grow here in SA.”
She counts fellow SA actress Thuso Mbendu as her inspiration, among a host of others.
“Landing this role has made me feel like anything is possible as I am living my dream and I think that’s very profound,” Kondleka said.
