Adulting’s Lungile Duma says Camilla Waldman her ‘ultimate muse’

With a sea of young talent flooding our local TV screens, fresh-faced Lungile Duma hopes to be as renowned as her acting coach Camilla Waldman who is notoriously known for her villain role as Anne de Villiers on SABC1’s Generations.

From a young age, all that Duma envisioned was seeing her name in bright lights. She then became fuelled by this desire as she embarked on a modelling journey in her late teens, however, the shutter speed sound of the camera left her unfulfilled. She knew there was something more she could do in the entertainment industry.

Duma has worked her way up in the film industry and is now another addition in the cast of Showmax's Adulting, where she plays Zithulele, her very first breakout role. 

After thorough introspection, in 2020 the aspiring actor enrolled in a year-long acting class and then undertook a journey of self-tapes and auditions, which landed her a cameo role on eTV’s Durban Gen as a pregnant lady in the first episode in 2021 and Busi the secretary to Cobra, played by Presley Chweneyagae, on the popular 1Magic telenovela, The River in 2022.

These cameo roles gave Duma the validation she needed to forge forward and she did so by auditioning for the role of Zithulele in Adulting.

“The whole process was very overwhelming in the beginning. Last year, I had to move from KZN to Johannesburg after receiving four call-outs in a month. It was a big change for me because I wasn’t sure whether I’d get the role or not,” said the 28-year-old from rural Bulwer in KwaZulu-Natal.

“There were so many of us. The producers would compare and thankfully I managed to get the role.” With the stamp of approval that being in front of the camera exchanging dialogue was her destiny, in the past year acting alongside her on-screen husband Mpho played by Thabiso Rammusi became a dream for the village girl.

She also shares the screen with the reckless gang of heartthrobs: Thembinkosi Mthembu who plays Bonga, Nhlanhla Kunene as Eric, and Luthando “BU” Mthembu as Vuyani.

“I couldn’t believe it when I finally got my first real role as Zithulele. This step in my life comes with a lot of growth and discipline. It made me yearn to hone my acting skills more to stand out in the industry,” said the child and youth care psychologist graduate.

“I told myself that just because I got this big break, that doesn’t mean I have to relax and take the backseat but more than anything, to work hard at sharpening my craft which is why I’m taking acting classes with Camilla Waldman – she’s my ultimate muse since I was a child and now she’s my teacher.”

Waldman is known for convincingly portraying a villain role to the tee and although Duma plays a timid wife on the risqué adult series, she hopes to take on future roles that showcase her versatility as a thespian.

“[At the moment] I’m learning from the best in the game. With all that she’s taught me so far, I hope to land more challenging characters that showcase my capabilities,” says the budding actor.

“Another valuable lesson that she’s taught me is being able to separate myself from my character. We as actors suck in a lot from our roles which might be hard to debrief from when we step off set… so, being able to separate Zithulele from Lungile has been an important aspect of becoming a good actor.”

Having been inspired by the likes of Nomzamo Mbatha, Zikhona Sodlaka, co-stars Samkelo Ndlovu and Thembi Seete – who she now acts alongside on the show – Duma believes she’s well on her way to reaching Thuso Mbedu’s international status.

“I grew up watching Samkelo and Thembi on TV. I would always say to myself that one day that will be me… fast forward decades later I now share scenes with these women – it has been so mind-blowing to digest and a true testament of how far I’ve come,” she said.