‘Foundation’ star Lou Llobell on why SA's still home, what sets Apple TV+ apart

The actress grew up in Pietermaritzburg before moving to the UK to study drama and landing a role in the hot, new sci-fi series

28 November 2021 - 00:00
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Actress Lou Llobell.
Actress Lou Llobell.
Image: Anna Lowry

One of the first things you might notice when you start watching Foundation, a new show from Apple TV+, is a slight SA twang in the lead character’s accent.

The 26-year old Lou Llobell, born to a Zimbabwean mother and a Spanish father, was eight years old when her family moved to Pietermaritzburg in SA.

Foundation is based on a trilogy of sci-fi novels written by Isaac Asimov. In the on-screen adaptation, Llobell plays Gaal Dornick, a brilliant mathematician who sets out to save the galaxy from certain destruction.

We spoke to the actress to find out about her SA roots and why she thinks Foundation is a worthwhile watch.

Tell me about your link to SA?

My mother was from Zimbabwe and Spain wasn’t very welcoming to her in terms of her career. She had two degrees but wasn’t able to find work, so my parents made a decision to move to SA, which seemed like somewhere good in between. My dad was working at the University of Seville in Spain when the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Pietermaritzburg offered him a job, so he was able to transfer over for a few years.

So we moved there when I was eight. My mom still lives in ’Maritzburg so I go back once a year to see her and my brother. My dad also does half his time in the Western Cape and half in Seville. I’m not SA per se but I definitely feel SA.

Lou Llobell in ‘Foundation’.
Lou Llobell in ‘Foundation’.
Image: Apple TV+

Where do you call home?

I’ve travelled around all my life and I have family all over the world so there are a few places I call home. I think SA for sure is one of them. Seville in Spain is also one of them and at the moment London. It’s quite funny because whenever I’m at one of them I call the other home.

Do you think the time you spent growing up in Pietermaritzburg helped shape the person you’ve become?

Of course. Extra-curricular activities are encouraged in SA so I was very lucky that I grew up there, [otherwise] I wouldn’t have done all the sports I did. I went to Epworth School in Pietermaritzburg. I did a lot of swimming and water polo and I was quite good at that, which has obviously come in handy for this role.

I was a hockey player, I played regional hockey, I played for KZN, and I got into the SA Under-16 squad one year. I also did all the plays at school. I would get to school at 8:30am and leave by 5pm because I had so much stuff to do after school — which was amazing and I’m very privileged to have been exposed to so many things in one place, and I think that’s very special.

WATCH | The trailer for 'Foundation'

Is there something from SA that you miss when you’re not here?

Yes! I miss the weather in Durban all year round. I miss being able to put meat on a braai and have all my friends over because I don’t have a garden in London. You know what I do miss as well which I can’t find in the UK? Black Label beer. It’s the cheapest and the most delicious beer ever and I can’t have it unless I’m home. There’s so much that I miss but I think, ultimately, what I miss the most is how friendly everyone is. There’s always a smile on people’s faces.

You moved to the UK to pursue an acting career. What has it been like living there?

Moving to London was quite interesting because all my friends in London are from all over the world, which is amazing. In SA it is very rare that you find people who are not from SA or neighbouring countries. I was always different because I was Spanish. It was exciting because I came from a different country in Europe but here [in London] I wasn’t special in that sense because everyone is from everywhere and that was quite a nice thing to be exposed to — so many cultures and so many people.

Clinching a lead role in an Apple TV series at the age of 26 is a big deal. What gave you the edge to achieve this?

I got this role a year and a bit after leaving drama school. I went to Birmingham for my undergrad, then I moved to London and did two years for a Masters. I studied for five years so that’s definitely something that helped — but there’s only so much studying that you can do. You need to be in it and experience it to really understand how things work. 

Acting is something I’ve always wanted to do. I’ve been very lucky that I’ve had family who have been completely supportive — financially and emotionally. All those things obviously help. And I’ve had a drive that meant I’ve never given up. The amount of times you get told ‘no’ in this industry is ridiculous but you just have to persevere and make sure that, ultimately, you do everything you can to make it work. I think it was a mixture of that and also being at the right place at the right time and being particularly the person that this show wanted for this role.

What drew you to the role of Gaal Dornick, a character initially portrayed as male in the novels?

I read a couple of scenes when I auditioned and there was one in episode two with the math and I was like oh my goodness, this woman is so smart and they’re looking at people like me — people who are brown, people of colour. That’s amazing, how empowering is that? Progressively I started to realise that she’s not just intelligent mathematically and scientifically, she’s also emotionally intelligent.

She has this core of caring for humanity and people which is just so special. And she’s not necessarily physically agile — you don’t ever see her in fights or battles, you see her solving things with her brain and her heart. That was really special and empowering to see that kind of strength.

Lou Llobell as Gaal Dornick and Jared Harris as Hari Seldon in ‘Foundation’.
Lou Llobell as Gaal Dornick and Jared Harris as Hari Seldon in ‘Foundation’.
Image: Apple TV+

When you start watching it, Foundation feels like Star Wars meets Star Trek. What makes it stand out for you from other sci-fi shows and movies?

Ultimately, although it is set thousands and thousands of years in the future on multiple planets in a giant galaxy with people from all over, you can genuinely relate to it on a human level, on an emotional level. In a way you can almost see yourself and your experiences in it beyond all the spacey, sci-fi stuff. It’s a story about humans trying to survive. What they’re trying to protect.

Trying to gain power or trying to share power. Or losing loved ones, or gaining loved ones. It’s a story about survival and I think that’s something we can all see in ourselves. That’s what we as humans are doing on a daily basis — we’re just trying to get through that day so that we can get through the next one and the next one. It’s the human experience in a setting that looks amazing. It’s a beautiful show to watch on both levels.

We’ve entered an era of streaming wars, so to speak. What sets Apple TV+ apart, in your opinion, from rivals such as Netflix, Amazon Prime, and Showmax?

A lot of these other streaming services have limits — I think it’s licensing limits. Apple is available in many different countries. Foundation, for example, comes out at the same time everywhere around the entire world. It’s not like some countries get it; some countries don’t. And they have amazing shows on there. The quality is incredible, the scripts are beautiful.

They’re coming out with so many films and so many series and there’s so much on there that is diverse — there’s something for everyone. I’m not saying you shouldn’t get everything else as well, I’m just saying that you should definitely add Apple TV to the list of streaming services. I can understand that it can be overwhelming for people but this is the world we’re living in now — streaming is at the forefront of everything.

• 'Foundation' is available to stream on Apple TV+.


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