Our features editor, Phila Tyekana cosied up to Isibaya’s villain Iris Zungu, as actress Mampho Brescia chats about marriage, motherhood and her oh so devious TV character.
Here are 5 things we didn’t know about Mampho that were uncovered by our features editor:
She loves Iris
I love what I’m doing right now and I love Iris. I’m so happy Isibaya producers chose me to play her. I feel like I’m thriving in her skin. Iris is lots of fun and I have a lot of creative leverage in creating who she is. Many people call me Iris, even off-screen, and can’t differentiate between the character and the real me. I speak and look just like her. The truth is I have to be like Iris, as an actress all the characters you play are you but with an added twist. But, at the same time I also don’t think we are completely alike: Iris is entirely narcissistic (selfish) and lives without morals. Unlike her, I’d never intentionally hurt someone, I’m not as self-centred or as snobbish as she is. People say I appear unfriendly, but I’m really not – I think I’m one of the friendliest people in the world. I love me and I’m always so true to myself, which is something Iris doesn’t have. I never judge the character, though. 
She didn’t audition for Iris
I came back from the States in 2012 and Desiree Magra from production company The Bomb Shelter called and told me about their new project, Isibaya. She thought I’d make a perfect Iris. She invited me to do a few screen tests and I got the job. I didn’t really audition for the role. I worked with Desiree on Jacob’s Cross, where I played Zanele, and she knew I would play Iris with ease. 
She is married
I met my husband in a gym. He walked up to me and we started chatting. I thought he was a potential stalker when he approached but speaking to him there was something about his spirit that made me connect to him immediately. He was so kind and warm that I felt ok giving him my number. He called me the next day and we went on a date and I knew then that he would be my husband. I remember asking him on that first date what his intentions were with me. I’d never been so frank with any other guy before, but I was so comfortable with him. From then on, we were inseparable and we got married a year after dating. My husband is damn close to being perfect. He loves me with a love that is ethereal. He is the one person that esteems me more than he does himself. His love for me is unmatched. He really is an incredible soul. Our love is alien-like. I call him my amore (meaning love in Italian). I have a tattoo written more on my arm, which I got while I was living in the US. I was missing him so much and decided to get it in honour of him. 
She’s BFF with Terry Pheto
Terry and I met on the set of Jacob’s Cross in 2007 but it feels like we’ve known each other forever. We got chatting on set one day about our ambitions and how being a (James) Bond girl was my ultimate lust role. It turns out she too wanted to be a Bond girl one day. That’s when I knew I’d found my soul-mate (laughs). Since then we’ve been inseparable. Terry and I are so different and I think that’s why our friendship works. She’s always so composed while I’m an emotional wreck. I love that about her because while I’ll make a mountain out of something small, she always manages to make me see things clearer. 
She lived in America for a few years
It was a spur of the moment thing to move to America. My husband and I thought why not? I also rode off the success of District 9 and saw it as an opportunity to chase a career that side. Terry was behind me fully too, she joined me later in the US and we lived together. Life in the US was a great experience. My husband has his business here in SA so he commuted to and fro. We knew a few people there like Gavin Hood, who produced Tsotsi and who was a great help in getting me settled in. My whole time there was as if it was God orchestrated. I was introduced to filmmakers, including Oscar-winning director Phillip Noyce, people I’d never imagined I’d meet and was lucky enough to be on call to shoot some of their movie/show pilots. Terry and I also went to film school and what was my “downfall” here in SA – looking and sounding different – was an advantage in the States. I got a few gigs there including starring in a feature film called, What To Bring To America, in which I played an Ethiopian lady. The movie was shown at a few film festivals. I also starred in a TV series called Luck alongside Dustin Hoffman and shot the pilot for popular drama series, Revenge. 
Photography by Justin Dingwall Photographer’s Assistant: Eben du Plessis Makeup: Vuyo Varoyi Hair: Mo Mostamai Stylist: Palesa Mashiyane Stylist’s Assistant: Gavin Mahlangu
