Idris Elba pictured here with Sello Hatang, CEO of the Foundation (left) and Anant Singh, movie producer (centre)
On the back of the successful South African premiere of Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, the Nelson Mandela Foundation hosted an exclusive press conference with lead actor Idris Elba, who plays Mandela in the film, Tony Kgoroge, who plays Walter Sisulu, Producer Anant Singh and Director Justin Chadwick on 4 November, 2013.
“We are overjoyed at the reaction to the film we witnessed last night. We are very proud of the film, which opens first to the public in South Africa on 28 November. This is a tangible means of living Tata’s legacy and sharing the history, experience, values, vision and leadership of his life to promote social justice.
"Nelson Mandela’s legacy has created the opportunity for us to achieve a common future and a movement for good. It's time we reach out to public across the board to drive this message home,” says Sello Hatang, Chief Executive of the Nelson Mandela Foundation.
Idris Elba pictured here at the Nelson Mandela Foundation
Chadwick on the audience reaction following the movie premiere
“The people of South Africa are our most important audience in that we made this film with hundreds of thousands of local people.
“It was a surreal experience watching the people who are depicted in the film actually watching the movie, seeing them watching their story on a screen and reacting to the film. It was very overwhelming and very moving. I’m so happy that the audience loved the film.
“The level of technical expertise and acting here in South Africa is fantastic. I loved working here and would happily come back and work here again.”
Elba on being in character
“Playing Madiba – who is depicted as such a living saint – meant I had to try to capture and carry his spirit in some form. One word that kept coming back to me was ‘patience’ – something Mandela grasped very well. He managed to stand outside of himself and remain patient while addressing problems. Me, I am a very impatient man.
“It was imperative that I understood the journey and understand what the country had gone through and is going through – the roots of the history were important and pivotal to understanding the role.”
Kgoroge on growing his career as an actor
Tony Kgoroge plays Walter Sisulu in the movie
“Actors start with small parts, which then enable us to play greater roles as we grow. What you take from each role is the strength and ability to play another.”
Elba on working with local actors
“Tony and I took time to step outside of the work to get to know one another. South Africa is very talented in terms of the entrainment world – the actors here are very engaging, very passionate, hard working. South Africans seem to embrace challenges as opposed to trying to find a way around them. I really enjoyed my time spent here – I would love to come back and make another film here.”
Singh on the responsibility of producing a film about Mandela
“It's a huge responsibility to carry when Madiba chooses you to take on this huge task – I wrote to him in prison to ask about the possibility of making a film about his life.
“A lot of introspection goes into the process, a lot of thinking about whether we would be able to do justice to his story in a motion picture. We went through over 50 drafts of screenplays – when we got to THE story, the love story, we knew we had a real canvas to tell Madiba’s tale, from age eight to his time as president. I promised Madiba that I would do my best, and that’s what we all did.”
Elba on playing Mandela
Anant Singh (left) and Justin Chadwick (right)
“My method of working is to do the best job I can possibly do. But when you are playing Nelson Mandela, a world icon, you have to pay attention to who the man is – but you still have to understand how Madiba will be perceived, and to choose which aspects of his character you bring to life.
“I studied the man, I paid attention to who he is as a personality, who he was as a [statesman]; I paid attention to his idiosyncratic behaviour. We all agreed that I didn't want to do an impersonation – I don’t look like him, so I had to capture his spirit the most. That was the focus of my preparation for the role. I did a lot of reading to help understand who he is and who he was.
“Playing the role of Mandela is a gift. The next role I will take on is the complete opposite – a commander who gathers child soldiers, so I won’t be winning any awards for being Mr Nice Guy in that role. Even though the character is so despicable, it's a massive challenge to be true in any role, to challenge myself and my audiences.”
Foundation CEO Sello Hatang takes Idris Elba through the all-new interactive exhibition space at the Centre of Memory
Following the conference, members of the crew and cast of Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom were treated to a sneak preview of the all-new interactive exhibition space at the Centre of Memory, due to open to the public on 18 November, 2013.