Zimbo flair shines on Kunta Kintea��s return

Bruce Ndlovu
The much talked about remake of the slave series Roots has brought a nice mix of old and new stars to the small screen, with a trio of Zimbabweans also among those shining in the four part mini-series.

Novice actor Peace Nzirawa, South Africa-based veteran actor Ernest Ndlovu and rapidly rising British-based Zimbo Rege-Jean Page are the Zimbabwean stars that, to varying degrees, lit up the set of the remake of the classic slave saga.

The series, which debuted in the United States on the History Channel at the end of May and on the same channel in Africa on DSTV on 15 June, has captured viewers with its re-imagination of Kunta Kintea��s trials in pre slave abolishment era America.

Besides a strong cast of American superstars who include Forest Whitaker, Lawrence Fishburne and leading man Malachi Kirby, the film also had a strong South African contingent that included Nokuthula Ledwaba and Nandi Nyembe.

Among the African contingent in the series is the Zimbabwean trio whose backgrounds could not be more different from one another.

While Nzirawa is a Tshabalala born and bred accountant turned film star, Page left Zimbabwe 12 years ago for the UK where he settled with his parents.

The 26-year-old was born in Zimbabwe but moved to the British capital, London, at the age of 14. Page, who plays the iconic Chicken George, started acting as a hobby at 14 when he left his country, before going on to book roles in film and TV series such as Fresh Meat, Survivor, and BBCa��s Waterloo Road.

After two years of auditioning, Page was accepted into the Drama Centre, a top London-based university that has shaped other stars like Paul Bettany, Tom Hardy, Michael Fassbender, Anne-Marie Duff, and Game of Thronesa�� Gwendoline Christie. He received a BA in acting from the institution in 2013.

The series was particularly pleasurable to take part in for Page, the son of an interracial couple, because of his experiences in post colonial Zimbabwe.

a�?Zimbabwea��s one of the youngest countries in the world, it became independent from British colonialism in the 1980s. In America you can still feel the echoes of slavery, and Zimbabwe is very much feeling the echoes of British colonial rule.a�?

a�?Ita��s very hard to craft an identity in that environment as a young, mixed raced man. I learned from the age of three that I was a walking political statement. Just by walking around with my face, I was saying, a�?My parents did a fairly revolutionary thing that pisses off some of you,a�? he said inA� one-on-one with Interview Magazine.

Nzirawaa��s background, although he is also now resident in a foreign country, could not be any more different. Born 29 years ago at Tshabalala Clinic in Bulawayo, Nzirawa does not have extensive experience as he relocated south of the Limpopo only last year.

Leaving a job at his brothera��s accounting firm, Nzirawa has gone on to star in a few South African productions like SABC 2a��s Mamello while a big screen production is also in the pipeline.

Ernest Ndlovu, who plays a Wolof man, is one who needs no introduction to Zimbabwean audiences.

Ndlovu, born in Tshololotsho, has featured in a number of South African television series such as Egoli, African Skies, Going Up, Tarzan: The Epic Adventures, Justice for All, Home Affairs, Sokhulu and Parners, Angel, Okavango, Rhodes, Soul City, Madam and Eve, Charlie Jade, Izingani zo Baba and Crusoe.