Nthati Moshesh walks away from The Masked Singer SA with the courage to be more adventurous and free. 

The 54-year-old actor became the first to get unmasked on the second season of the local spin-off of the global phenomenon won by Holly Rey last season. Moshesh was the identity behind "Springbok".

Known for her award-winning roles in Scandal!, Home Affairs, Ayanda, Isono and Savage Beauty, Moshesh will forever cherish the six minutes she had on stage singing As It Was by Harry Styles as the panel of judges – J'Something, Somizi Mhlongo, Skhumba Hlophe and Sithelo Shozi – tried to guess her identity.

“I suppose the whole intriguing mystery about The Masked Singer is what also motivated my decision. It appeals to the adventurous side of me," she said.

“I thought to myself, you’re going to be put in a hoodie so that no one sees who you are. Your identity will completely be hidden… so the idea thrilled me. I like that whole mystery and intrigue – the adventure of it all… there was no way I was going to say, ‘no’. Plus after seeing my friend Doctor Khumalo take part in it [first season], I knew I too will have fun.” 

Moshesh did it all to let her inner child out. “I’m quite the chatterbox, so you can imagine how that went. It was very hard for me to sit in the back and not say a word to my driver. I felt like I was in one big adventure and we were all playing hide and seek,” she said.

Moshesh chose "Springbok" because the costume looked light and easy to manoeuvre in. “No one guessed who I was because no one was expecting me to do something like that,” she said.

“Being on that stage was completely nerve-wrecking. Remember, that’s not my comfort zone, that’s not an area I am the most comfortable in. [At times] you become extremely vulnerable because you open yourself to naysayers who critic you based on your vocal-ability … so, as an actor you’re completely vulnerable. 

“But I must say, singing and performing was very challenging hence I tipped off my hat to artists when I took the mask off. This experience has opened my eyes to what it is that they go through before performing in front of a crowd.” 

Moshesh’s unmasking not only came as a shock to her fans, but her family too. 

“I’m glad I managed to duck and dive a lot of my close people. I made sure that I never got picked up by my driver with anyone around. I also managed to keep this as a secret to my best friend who visits me almost every second day… I still don’t understand how I managed to pull it off,” she said. 

“Most of my family members don’t watch TV. So my sister was at church on Sunday and someone told her that I was singing and dancing on TV and that I was unveiled as the Springbok. She then called to tell me she wasn’t surprised that I’d do something like that because I’ve always been a fun and bubbly person since I was a child.” 

Her biggest takeaway from the show was pushing her to be more fearless.

“I told myself that there are other things that you can’t be perfect at and that’s okay. Yes, I'm vocally wounded and that’s okay but I told myself this, 'you’re also good at other things which is a reminder of the creative that I am.'”