Generations: The Legacy leading man Vuyo Dabula has just returned from five gruelling weeks, enduring freezing temperatures while filming a movie in Eastern Cape.
The feature, titled Five Fingers for Marseilles is a Western directed by Michael Matthew and follows the story of an outlaw Tau, played by Dabula, who returns home after years on the run, with trouble closely following him.
It will come to the big screen next year.
To best capture a classic Western landscape, such as forested mountains and dusty plains, the movie had its principal photography over winter in the rural village of Lady Grey, stationed in the foothills of the Witteberg Mountains.
"It was quite an experience. The weather was very cold in the mountains, it was sub-zero most of the time and it snowed. They created that kind of harsh Western world. Sometimes in the story my character is wearing just a shirt in a cold night, but it was all exciting. We got to play a lot with guns and rode horses, it was fun," Dabula recounts.
"To prepare myself for the role both physically and mentally, I met up with an old friend of mine who used to be a boxer (Lehlohonolo Ledwaba). He fought Manny Pacquiao and he's a champion in South Africa. From time to time I would go to him for advice; my character is a fighter and is not afraid of confrontations, so I had sessions with him.
"We spoke a lot about fighting, just the mentality of a fighter and getting into that head space."
The film features a star-studded male supporting cast that includes Kenneth Nkosi, Mduduzi Mabaso, Jerry Mofokeng and Warren Masemola. For a short while, actress Thishiwe Ziqubu had a role in the film, but Dabula reveals that she dropped out under mysterious circumstances.
"I don't know why she left, and I tried to find out. I was disappointed to see her go. She is powerful. We had done a couple of scenes with her. It's just unfortunate," Dabula shares.
Last Sunday Dabula turned 40 and as he puts it, "it certainly looks like I'm at the peak of my career".
Boasting a ripped body, Dabula says the secret of his fountain of youth is a healthy diet plan that includes cutting down on sugar, alcohol and starch and a strict exercise routine.
Away from the limelight, the man from Mahikeng is a husband and a proud father of a two-year-old son. Dabula says his family inspire him to work even harder so that he can give them a better life.
"I'm trying to be a disciplinarian to my son at the moment. He's quite the drama king. He is smart and has a sense of humour. I see a lot of myself in him. When I was young I would perform for everyone. I would be watching a show and start mimicking what I saw, and he does the same thing," he says.
source: sowetanlive
