Eight questions for the interested and interesting: Bianca Amato

For many South African millennials, Bianca Amato will always be Philippa de Villiers from the iconic soapie Isidingo. Her character’s romance with mine manager Derek Nyathi, played by Hlomla Dandala, made television history with the first interracial kiss to be depicted on local television. Ground-breaking at the time, it helped cement Amato as one of the country’s most recognisable and loved stars.

Since then, her career has taken her far beyond local screens. Amato spent many years in New York, appearing on Broadway in productions including Macbeth and Arcadia, while also building an impressive film and television résumé with roles in shows such as Law & Order: SVU and The Big C, as well as the Netflix hit The Kissing Booth.

Now permanently back in South Africa, Amato is starring in the new Paul Slabolepszy play Midnight in Parys. Directed by Bobby Heaney, the production follows two strangers who meet in a karaoke bar in Parys, each carrying secrets that will change everything. Tender, tense and packed with intrigue, the play keeps audiences guessing until the very end. We caught up with her for our eight questions.

What’s the best book you’ve read in the past year, and why?

Arundhati Roy’s memoir, Mother Mary Comes to Me. It’s vital, visceral, fascinating and bold. Her writing sings to me.

How do you keep fit? 

Pilates and walking/running.

Week-night, low-key restaurant go-to? 

Shew, hard one. When you have young children, week-night, low-key restaurant go-tos aren’t really a thing! We do enjoy Oishi Sushi delivery!

What is the one artwork you’ll always love, and why? You needn’t own it!

I have an oil painting by a dear friend who is no longer with us and whom I miss deeply. It’s a still life of a clay vase on a deep sage cloth-covered table, with a lone branch of burgundy blossoms strewn across the cloth. It is gorgeous, and it makes me think of Ellen and our friendship.

Do you have a hobby? What is it?

I’m so boring! I love jigsaw puzzles! Big, detailed, challenging puzzles. It’s my favourite downtime activity.

The one unusual item you can’t live without?

I don’t know about unusual, but I have to have scented candles and greenery in my life. Trees must be visible at all times, if possible!

Who was your high school celeb crush?

Sting. From age 12 to 21, he was my biggest crush. I once smashed a window to break into my own flat because the tickets to a Sting concert that was happening that night were inside, and I didn’t have my keys with me. Desperate measures. Also, more secretly, MacGyver – Richard Dean Anderson. I had a picture of him on the inside of my cupboard, while Sting was more prominently displayed …

Three songs you’d take to a desert island?

Kate Bush’s Cloudbusting, Keith Jarrett’s The Köln Concert and Nina Simone’s Feeling Good.

Catch ‘Midnight in Parys’ at Montecasino’s Pieter Toerien Studio Theatre until July 12.

ALSO READ:

• Eight questions for the interested and interesting: Dikelo Mamiala
• South African television at 50: the soaps that wrote the script
• Currency’s best books of the year (so far)

_{Top image: supplied.}