Molosi features in Hollywood film

A United Kingdom tells the  story of Botswana’s first president, Sir Seretse Khama, whose marriage to a white woman in 1948 sparked international outrage.

 

GOSEGO MOTSUMI

Award winning Broadway actor Donald Molosi will feature in the upcoming Hollywood film titled, “A United Kingdom”  playing the supporting role of  Kabelo, a headman in the film about the transformative inter-racial romance of Sir Seretse and Lady Ruth Khama in the 1940’s. Molosi says even though he plays a small role in the film which is scheduled for world release in time for the country’s 50th anniversary he was grateful for the opportunity.
“It is an exciting film, a culmination of sorts for me since I have been writing and performing the story of Sir Seretse around the world for about ten years,” Molosi said.
The film which is in post production stage with an official trailer to be released anytime now  also stars Academy Award nominee Rosamund Pike who plays Lady Ruth Khama and Emmy Award nominee David Oyelowo as Sir Seretse. The film is directed by BAFTA-winning director Amma Asante  and its producers include Rick McCallum who famously produced the original Star Wars series.
Molosi trained as a classical actor at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art (LAMDA) which is the same school where the star of the film David Oyelowo attended.
“David Oyelowo and I trained as actors at the same school in England but years apart. Batswana are going to love him in this film,” he said.
Molosi, who divides his time between the USA and Botswana, was the first Motswana to perform on Broadway nine years ago and his off-Broadway credits include “You Can’t Take It With You” and “Anowa and Fela!” He has also performed plays that he wrote himself off-Broadway to great acclaim including his magnum opus Blue, Black and White for which he won the Best Actor Award at the Dialogue One Festival as well as the Best Solo Award at the United Solo Festival. The play was the first-ever dramatic account of the life of Sir Seretse Khama and it is one of the plays that Molosi has included in his new book called, “We Are All Blue”, a collection of Molosi’s award-winning plays that he is launching next month in anticipation of the film.
“I have been consistent for the past decade about my constant campaign to resuscitate the memory of Sir Seretse and people appreciate my consistency. And I will not stop after the film,” he said adding that he plans to do many more projects about his life.
“And if one day my legacy can be that I made my nation take interest in Seretse Khama, I would have fulfilled so much of what I dream of towards a self-loving Africa,” he concluded.