Winnie Ntshaba of House of Zwide thinks her firing from Generations was a blessing in disguise.The actress who presently plays Faith Zwide in eTv’s serial Generations earned her big break as Khethiwe Buthelezi on Generations.
She portrayed the country girl for over ten years before the production sacked her and her 15 co-stars…Generations 16th.
“I don’t think I would have left the show because fear of the unknown locks you down. But there is so much out there. Ultimately [being fired] was a blessing.”
She graduated from the University of KwaZulu-Natal with a theater degree in 1997 and received her first TV role as a street youngster in 2002 on Backstage.
Winnie claims that the part had little impact on her life because it lasted barely three months.Her life changed only after she joined Generations and fans remembered her lines ‘forgive me sbali, may I carry my bags?’
“The following day I went to the mall as usual in a taxi and people started pointing at me, saying ‘that’s her’.
“That’s how huge Generations was and it changed my life.”
Winnie joined several shows after the SABC 1 soapie such as Mzansi Magic’s The River, The Herd, Isibaya, Isithembiso.She also started a soapie award show titled The Royalty Soapie Awards in 2014.
“Getting funding has always been a struggle. We always want to do a big thing, and I think eventually we will get there. I dream of a day where we can give prize money because for me the true sense of celebrating someone’s excellence is to give them something of value.”
According to the actress, the awards recognize both those in front of and behind the camera through many technical categories.
“I feel like there is so much that goes around in the making of a show and there are so many people that work tirelessly behind the show that need to be celebrated.
“We want to bring awareness of the careers that are there behind the scene because if someone at home sees ‘art direction’ they are going to ask themselves what do they do.”