Small roles taught Refiloe Dube to put her heart and soul into her craft

Her initial dream was to one day be crowned Miss SA but after realising acting was her destiny, Refiloe Dube set a plan to walk in the footsteps of veteran actor Sindi Dlathu. 

Dube was first introduced to South Africans three years ago when she scooped a small cameo role of a slay queen on Showmax’s Lingashoni, her small stint was preceded by another role on The Queen and The River. She also landed a role in the Mzansi Magic film, Vuthela. 

All her small roles led to her big role yet on eTV’s Isitha – The Enemy, a spin-off of the risqué adult show, The Black Door.

“Landing the role of Ayanda was validation of the hard work and dedication I’ve put in in the past few years,” said the 31-year-old actor. 

“I only realised in 2020 that I actually want to try my hand at acting. I left home in Mpumalanga and moved to Johannesburg. I wanted to enter beauty pageants but one day I saw how the likes of Connie Ferguson and Sindi Dlathu were respected for their craft.

“I started doing my research on acting, I even went to acting workshops to hone my skills even more. I knew I had to do all that I could to become a good actor.”

Dube prides herself on “starting at the bottom” with all the small roles she played as she believes those characters taught her to put her heart and soul no matter how small the role is.

“I’ve never said, ‘no’ to any role that would help me get ahead. I’ve played a waiter before as an extra on a set production. I wasn’t concerned at how small my script was, my frame of mind at the time was to portray it to my utmost ability because someone is always watching, they can spot my talent,” she said.

“I may have played several slay queen roles but I love challenging myself to see how far I can grow as an actor.” 

Growing up as a sibling of 15 in Mpumalanga, Dube recalls being very reserved and shy because of the demanding family dynamic. 

“I’m the second last child of the 15 but I’m the last born from my mother’s side. Living with all 15 of my siblings growing up was so crazy but I’m glad I had a special bond with my dad,” she said. 

“The house was always full… and I’d prefer to keep to myself. However, I knew I had to get over being a shy person hence I took up acting to challenge myself to be out there more, especially in the public eye.”

Dube describes herself as a multidimensional actor who can transform, she pushed her boundaries when she accepted to act in Siswati for the first time on the spin-off risqué adult show. 

“All I want to do is prove to everyone that I can morph into different roles. My dream role is to one day play a leading role as a villain much like Sindi Dlathu,” she remarked. “I love her work ethic, the respect she has for her craft, and the way she was able to shape herself in the industry is so admirable.”