KNYSNA NEWS - There are not many aspiring actors who have the guts to do a risky, (albeit potentially memorable) scene for viewers, but Knysna local Graeme Mkhalimi Kriega (28) considered his options and decided he was willing to take a calculated risk.

The result was that Kriega agreed to act in a masturbation scene in the very first television series he ever appeared in, Tempy Pushas. And it paid off! Immediately, audiences took note of the fearless actor! Since then Kriega has never been without work for a day and judging by the roles he is being cast in, this is just the beginning of an exciting career.

"The director was unsure whether I would be willing to do it, but seen in context it was totally relevant for my character, a guy called Creepy, in a story set in the competitative fashion industry, so I agreed!" smiles the charming and eloquent 1.84m tall dynamo. "They didn't see my package!" he laughs uninhibitedly. "I had my back turned to the camera and all one could see were my buttocks. I was faking it, really. There is no privacy on a set with so many people and cameras all around you. They sprayed moisture on my face for effect."

He also starred as the young Sigwebana in Donkerland, shot on farms on the outskirts of Johannesburg since April last year. Donkerland is set in 1929 and for his challenging role, Kriega had to speak a very old dialect of Afrikaans and Zulu.

After his stunt on Tempy Pushas, Kriega says he has to bear being the butt of jokes and comments when he visits his home turf as he did recently for Christmas. He is a former learner of Percy Mdala High School and the son of proud mum, Hilda Kriega.

"Old grannies will tell me they saw me in that scene, and it's okay because it was just acting, but I mustn't do it again!"

In Task Force, which will be broadcast this year, Kriega played one of his most challenging roles to date, that of a Facebook rapist and murderer.

"It is a police drama and every week there is a different villain. In Task Force I feel I have done some of my best work so far. I play a psychopath who seems like a normal guy most of the time, pretending to help the police.
I had to perform a hectic rape scene and it was so raw and convincing that the director told me afterwards that I had just scored myself a role in his next drama series!"

Kriega says that to break the tension produced after acting out such a violent scene, he and the actress who played his victim, watched the footage together and chatted over coffee. Being professional at all times, he believes, is paramount.

"To get into the mindset of a character like that takes great concentration. You go into a very dark zone. It took me a whole weekend to get him out of my mind. Luckily we shot on a Friday, but during that weekend I would wake up and find myself in front of the fridge and I would realise I'm back in character and not quite myself. I just couldn't get my mind to switch off - it was that intense," explains Kriega.
That is one of the reasons why he is glad that he lives with his sister.

"Once you have done an emotionally challenging scene like that some ten times in one day, it's good to go home and have normal conversation and homely activities around you to bring you back to normal reality," he smiles.

Task Force will air on SABC1 at the end of this month, so keep an eye out for this up-and-coming Knysna talent!


Actor Graeme Kriega (topless) in action as part of a rioting crowd. (Photo: Thespians.)

ARTICLE: ANOESCHKA VON MECK, KNYSNA-PLETT HERALD JOURNALIST

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