Zarelda de Bruin shines in Showmax’s "Spooksoeker".
Image: Showmax
At just 17, Cape Town’s Zarelda de Bruin has gone from high school classrooms to the small screen in a way most aspiring actors only dream of.
Her first-ever audition landed her the role of Melissa, a bold teenage journalist, in Showmax’s supernatural series "Spooksoeker".
The show follows Warno (played by Rico Immelman), a teenager with the ability to see and banish ghosts, as he teams up with his best friends, Allies (Joshwin Dyson) and Melissa, to confront otherworldly mysteries.
“This is my very first role, and also my very first time auditioning for anything,” De Bruin shared in an exclusive interview with Showmax.
“When I got the role, I hadn’t even been signed to an agency yet, but everything fell into place so perfectly. I’m still so surprised how everything worked out for me – this role was my first of everything.”
De Bruin credited her acting coach and the head of the culture department at her school, Delia Pereira, for helping her secure the opportunity.
“She helped me record an audition tape and sent it through on my behalf,” De Bruin explained.
“I really didn’t expect that I would get a callback. I took a chance and just hoped for the best. A few weeks later I had the callback, and another few weeks later there was a meeting with the producers where they told me that I got the role.”
Playing Melissa, a curious and bold teenage journalist, gave De Bruin new challenges.
“I feel like everyone is going to describe her as the typical girl-next-door character. She’s very smart and she’s a journalist, so she notices things that others miss,” De Bruin said.
“Sometimes, I read the script and would think, ‘Why are you doing this?’ Because it was stuff I would never do in real life. Melissa is sometimes very presumptuous.”
De Bruin noted that adjusting back to school life after filming was not easy.
“The first two weeks Rico and I were back at school, we complained to each other every day! Because we have just lived out our dreams and we were so free, and now we are trapped in school again!”
She also has embraced the opportunity to learn from seasoned actors on set, including June van Merch and Morné Visser.
“There was a new face every day. Sometimes it was very intimidating, but I tried to take something out of every day, talk to the actors, and learn by doing. Because I had no experience before this, I tried to find lessons in everything.”
New episodes of "Spooksoeker" streams on Showmax every Thursday.
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