EXCLUSIVE: ‘Ludik’ cast talk about Netflix’s first Afrikaans series and expect from the action-packed series
Enemies and allies clash as chaos ensues amongst the star-studded South African cast of Ludik. The explosive 6-episode series follows the story of Daan Ludik, portrayed by South African and Hollywood icon Arnold Vosloo as he tries to drag his empire out of a scandalous mess. Guns are fired, diamonds are stolen, relationships are tested as Daan Ludik’s whole world is under fire in Netflix’s first Afrikaans series set to premiere on 26 August 2022.
In an exclusive interview with Community Beyond, Vosloo, Rob van Vuuren, Jandre le Roux and Sean Cameron Michael opened up about what Mzansi can expect from the action-packed six-part series.
What is the first thing you do when you approach a role?
Arnold : I look at how much they pay me. Everything steams from that (laughs). You read the script and read if it excites you or not. {You read the script and if it’s great, you want to part of it. It doesn’t matter if you’re there for a day, week or a month. You want to be part of something good because you know good scripts are few and far between. The preparation is different for every gig. But ultimately, script is king
What are the differences between you and the character you play on the show?
Shawn : There isn’t much of a difference. I’m a psychopath and baddie but nature. The reason I love acting is because you can climb into these strange and weird characters and there’s nothing more exciting than finding out who these baddies and psychopaths are because in their world they’re just normal human beings who’ve made some interesting choices in life. People always meet me in person and say you’re just a nice friendly guy.
How would you describe your experience playing your character?
Rob : My experience on Ludik was unmatched. I’ve never had an experience to be on camera with an Ensemble cast as strong as this. {The script was strong and it was an absolute joy from beginning to end. Have now seen it my expectations have been surpassed and I couldn’t be prouder of it. }
How challenging was it playing the role?
Jandre : I needed to a lot of research on some cultures in Eastern Europe. The accent is always- I’m Afrikaans. The accent is always a bit of a challenge and keeping it throughout but I think like Rob and them mentioned playing with an ensemble cast, we just jell really well together.
Highlight of being on set?
Arnold : The highlight of being on set is that we got it done. We had six weeks, six hours of television to shoot. Very little money. So it was very difficult but the cool thing about the ensemble is that everyone brought their A game and they didn’t mind changing in their underpants in the middle of the street because there wasn’t money for trailers. {So we did what we had to and put it all on screen like the professionals we are}.
What do you want viewers to take away from the series?
Shawn : I want them to take away whether these characters are in South Africa or anywhere in the world, these are universal themes. {I think anyone watching this anywhere in the world it doesn’t matter, these characters are just like us and they would do the same thing. What our characters end up doing, audiences around the world will be able to relate to these characters and be very drawn to them }
Isabel Grobler
Loved it!