Bahumi Mhlongo speaks Netflix, her acting journey and how she is ready to spread her wings high
For actress Bahumi Mhlongo, forming part of Netflix’s crime series Soon Comes Night is not only an honor but a nod to the hard work that she has been putting into her craft over the years.
Her journey with Netflix started with a movie she shot, Love Sex & 30 Candles, alongside the likes of Lungile Tshabalala, and she dubs getting another gig with a streaming platform as “an actor’s dream of just forming part of a globally recognized company.”
“For them to even know you is a testament to the work you put in and the hours you spend cultivating that craft. And that, in itself, is so validating.
“Acting is something that I just always wanted to do; I actually can’t remember a time when I didn’t want to be a performer in this very field in some respect; although television was always the goal, anything would do.
“And while many people might think the bug bit me because of my family, and maybe that’s true, I personally can’t think of a time when acting was not part of the dream. I think it is just a grace, a blessing, and a way of expression and escape because it allows me to just be, to release emotions I have kept inside, and also get to tell people’s stories authentically, which is another way of healing a wider pool of wounds through validation while also entertaining them,” said the 29-year-old.
What captivated her about this production, eager to audition and be a part of it, was an array of reasons, like the character brief. “I really love how the script was written. It was very natural; there was nothing melodramatic about it but instead a flow about it.
“Secondly, it was the production I got to work with; the casting director, Miss Terry Pheto, was telling of the amazing people on set that I’d get to work with. It presented to me a space of learning from people who have been through so much in their careers, and I then get to do it better because I have them as guides,” she said.
Although the star comes from a well-known lineage of media personalities—Mary Twala as a grandmother, Somizi Mhlongo as a father, and Palesa Madisakwane as her mom—she has managed to keep a low profile, only allowing her work to speak for her.
She shares: “Growing up in a family of thespians, you are kind of conditioned to be private because your parents are always cautioning me about who is around us, and although they were well meaning, that brought a toxic element of living a life of secrecy, and you end up building a wall.
“But once I realized the toxicity of it, I was able to make decisions for myself as to when it would be safe and okay to allow the world in and when not to. I consciously decided to keep the things that mean the most to me private, and the things I choose to share are mostly the shallow things in life, or the lessons that come out of my private space with God or from family lessons. I am very strategic about that,” she said.
This strategic move allowed her to establish her Youtube channel ‘Open Book with Bahumi’, which was informed by the feeling of being muzzled and also the life of secrecy. Open Book allowed her to speak her mind freely while also serving as a space for healing.
This strategic move allowed her to establish her Youtube channel ‘Open Book with Bahumi’, which was informed by the feeling of being muzzled and also the life of secrecy. Open Book allowed her to speak her mind freely while also serving as a space for healing.
“I am currently on a social media break, but I know that there is a different direction that I want to take with the platform—to serve the people more and open up together,” she said.
Her journey is hers. Paced and calculated, with her adding that she would not have it any other way, as this allows her to peel layers of herself to help carve her own path.
Bahumi is centered, focused and determined to be who she knows herself to be. Continuing the wealthy legacy that she has been birthed into while also setting herself apart as an individual. What’s to come can only be determined by God but the thespian is ready to spread her wings high.