Thuso Mbedu on how apartheid and losing her parents helped her find Cora in 'Underground Railroad'

As Mzansi and the rest of the world waits in anticipation to see SA-born actress Thuso Mbedu in action as Cora in the US film Underground Railroad, she has given fans insight into what helped her channel Cora.

Thuso recently bagged a multiple-page spread in Elle magazine, where she opened up about how the parallels between American slavery and apartheid in SA were not lost on her and how losing her parents when she was quite young helped her find her voice in the film.

The actress got candid about the similarities she drew between her own life and Cora's, which she used to further enhance her performance.

“Both Cora and I are without parents. Having lost my mother, and my father, whom I never knew, and eventually losing my grandmother in 2014, it got to a point where I kept to myself, I kept in my head — the same with Cora.”

Flying the flag high on the international stage, Thuso also recently made it onto Essence Magazine’s global top 20 Black Hollywood Stars To Watch Out for 2021 list.

Though the list was highly contested, Thuso held the 16th place while her fellow South African actress and Coming 2 America star Nomzamo Mbatha clinched ninth spot.

The list also featured soulful singers and Beyoncé's prodigy, Chloe x Halle, Black-ish’s “favourite” son, Marcus Scribner, and The Old Guard's Michael Ward to name a few.

Thuso has also been working hard to open more doors as she strives to become a household name in the US.

Late last year reports started swirling that the Emmy-nominated actress could potentially be joining the Jedi Master Obi-Wan Kenobi in his upcoming series coming to Disney+.

According to The Illuminerdi, Thuso was one of three actresses who secured a call back for one of the lead roles, the character of Riley.

Thuso is up against relatively unknown actress Anula Navlekar and Naomi Scott, who is popular for her role as Princess Jasmine in Disney’s live action Aladdin.