Thuso Mbedu is South Africa’s shining light of 2021; the incredible actress recently sat with Ellen discussing her upcoming series ‘The Underground Railroad’.
Los Angeles, United States of America (08 June 2021) – Thuso Mbedu is hot news right now! She was recently interviewed by Ellen Degeneres, who said her starring role in the new Amazon Prime series The Underground Railroad is Emmy-worthy! That is a massive compliment!
Thuso was born in Pietermaritzburg, KwaZulu-Natal in 1991. Sadly she lost both her parents at a young age but was taken in by her grandmother, who supported her through school and encouraged her dreams. When Thuso graduated from high school, she enrolled at the University of Witwatersrand (WITS), studying Physical Theatre and Performing Arts Management. Thuso later graduated with honours and, before launching her career, took some time to further her experience at an acting school in New York.
Thuso’s standout role in South Africa was as Winnie Bhengu in Is’Thunzi. She was nominated for four local awards for this role and won the Best Actress TV Drama at the 12th South African Film and Television Awards in 2018.
Hollywood was calling, and in 2019, she landed a leading role for an international series. Thuso will feature as the lead in a series adapted from Colson Whitehead’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, The Underground Railroad.
The Underground Railroad
The Underground Railroad was published in 2016 and is the sixth novel by American author Colson Whitehead.
The alternate history novel tells the story of Cora and Caesar, two slaves in the southeastern United States during the 19th century, who make a bid for freedom from their Georgia plantations by following the Underground Railroad, which the novel depicts as primarily a rail transport system in addition to a series of safe houses and secret routes.
The Underground Railroad was a critical and commercial success, hitting the bestseller lists and winning several notable prizes. It won the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, the 2016 National Book Award for Fiction, the Arthur C. Clarke Award and the 2017 Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence.
Amazon is making a limited drama series based on the book written and directed by Barry Jenkins, who co-wrote and directed the Oscar-winning film Moonlight! The drama series adaptation is set to be one of the favourable productions of the year and a role that will shoot Mbedu to stardom in America!
The show was released on the 14th of May, 2021. Take a look at the trailer below.
Thuso also recently landed a movie role alongside Hollywood royalty Viola Davis. The pair will feature in a movie called “The Woman King”.
Thuso Mbedu was invited to be a guest on Ellen to celebrate her new series and recent successes. Ellen is a fan favourite, and being invited to the show is a big thing! Thuso discussed her role in The Underground Railroad and how she had pushed herself with her training and horseriding.
Ellen explained that she and Oprah were discussing Thuso and how much they loved the show. Ellen ended the interview by gifting Thuso a blingy pair of Ellen sneakers. Take a look at the awesome interview by clicking on the video frame below.