Isidingo’s Thulani Mtsweni channels pain of Marikana Massacre as Sibiya

Playing a miner caught up in a civil dispute similar to that which led to the deaths of 44 people in Marikana in 2012 took its toll on actor Thulani Mtsweni.

The star, who plays the role of Sibiya on the popular SABC 3 soapie Isidingo captivated audiences when his character went through the most on screen during a storyline about mining strikes.

He told TshisaLIVE that in order to prepare for the role, he needed to explore the stories and emotions of the Marikana Massacre.

"I watched documentaries and interviews on it and read reports on it. I wanted to feel like I was depicting it truthfully and doing it justice. It was such a painful time in our history and we had to be very sensitive to it. You could tell on set that it was very serious. We weren't depicting the massacre but something similar so it was different but I still found myself thinking about what I had seen in my research."

He said there were times when the scenes were so emotional that he had to go home and debrief.

"I think there were moments when it was really difficult, mentally. But I am an actor and I just use certain techniques to move away from the character."

On the streets he was sometimes stopped by fans who had their own opinions about the storyline.

"Some (people) stop me and tell me that it is wrong, that we can't solve anything with violence. Others say that when your back is against the wall, you do everything you can to survive, especially when you have children."

He said that the hardest part of breaking into the industry was getting producers to take a chance on young talent and said he found his break by teaming up with student filmmakers.

"I think the easiest way to overcome something like that is to approach young filmmakers and work with them. You will get some exposure from it and it opens the door to working with them in the future when they have also broken into the industry. In such an industry we all need each other and to help each other."