Laurence Fishburne talks about playing Nelson Mandela in new mini-series

Hollywood A-lister Laurence Fishburne has been cast to play the lead role of Tata Nelson Mandela in an upcoming BET six-part mini-series‚ Madiba‚ which aims to share with the world intimate details of the Apartheid regime.

Fishburne stars alongside our very own Terry Pheto‚ who takes on the role of Winnie Mandela‚ and Orlando Jones who has been cast as Oliver Tambo as well as 6000 local actors who will bring this historic story to life.

Shooting for the mini-series has already started in Johannesburg‚ but it will only air in 2017.

Speaking to TMG Entertainment recently on set of the mini-series Fishburne gave us a snapshot of what it’s like to play a global icon.

Laurence described being cast for the role of Madiba as a huge honour and one of the best roles of his career.

What made you say yes to playing Nelson Mandela?

“He’s an iconic figure to the world. There are very few roles of this size‚ people of this stature‚ people with this kind of intellect‚ with this kind of moral courage or with this kind of inner strength. There are very few people who are beacons of hope and inspiration for people all over the world. There’s very few figures like that in modern history- and he (Mandela) is one of a handful of people like that in present history. So‚ for me as an actor‚ I jumped at the chance.”

Preparing for the role

Even though he has used the abundance of information available out there about the struggle and Madiba’s fierce and heroic nature‚ Fishburne says it has been invaluable for him to interact with people who were close to him and gave him (Laurence) personal information about the man that he was.

“Preparing for this role was pretty interesting — the good news is that there is so much information about Nelson Mandela and the struggle out there. I relied mostly on meetings that I had in November with Zelda Le Grange and Ahmed Kathrada. These are people who were very close to him and they shared some wonderful things with me‚” Laurence said.

Nelson Mandela’s grandson Kweku Mandela is one of the executive producers of the movie‚ and spending time with him has been incredibly specials‚ says Laurence.

Visiting Qunu

When Fishburne came to SA in November last year he accompanied Kweku to Madiba’s home in Qunu‚ which he describes as nothing short of “special.”

“We got really personal introductions to the people in his life. I was totally honoured to be invited into his home and to have a meal there. Even something as simple as having a meal there was incredibly special. There’s something special about being in his home that he built for his family because he loved the area so much. I also got to see where the young boys get initiated.”

What do you hope the global audience will take from this mini-series?

“I hope that people come away with a greater understanding of the history of the struggle here to end Apartheid because it wasn’t just Mandela. It was Mandela and the leadership of the ANC who came together and really really sacrificed alot to put an end to a really inhumane and unjust system of government.”

What is the biggest lesson Madiba taught you...

“God’s greatest gift is forgiveness and I think that his biggest gift was being able to forgive those who persecuted him and separated him from his family‚ his children‚ his wife and his mother. Being able to find forgiveness is the greatest gift for all of us really.”

Language

The actor who has been filming in the country says that he loves the "mash-up of cultures," which he chirpily agreed is similar to an Indian mix of spices called masala.

Apart from enjoying the sights and sounds of our beautiful country- Laurence has been learning a thing or two about the local lingo.

Listening to him say "you talking sh**t man"  in Sesotho will have you rolling in laughter.