Actress Daniah de Villiers recently played the role of Emma Engelbrecht in the much spoken about South African television show, ‘Die Kantoor’. She spoke to SMF News’ Britannie Hohls about her life and career.
South African actress Daniah de Villiers lives in Stellenbosch, where she shares her house with two friends. She also enjoys playing the guitar and singing in her free time. She’s also done sky diving three times, but says she “never” wants to do it again. PHOTO:Britannie Hohls
Actress Daniah de Villiers’ home is warm, and the intricately decorated shelves are evidence of a creative flair, and a keen eye for detail. Daniah, like the space she inhabits, is relaxed and cheerful.
Daniah, who is 23, recently landed a major role – that of Emma Engelbrecht – in the South African sitcom Die Kantoor.
The kettle is boiling. Daniah opens a jar of Jacob’s coffee. She has only half an hour to talk, and so resorts to multitasking. She stops stirring the milk for a brief moment and ponders how best to broadly describe herself: “I love people and I love animals and I love to dream. I’m a very passionate person.”
Tamsin James, her housemate and close friend, confirms Daniah’s self-reflection.
“She’s so good at getting excited for other people – like dreams they are passionate about,” says Tamsin. “She is able to see and encourage other people’s dreams.” A teaspoon, at this point, gets promptly discarded into the sink.
Stellenbosch-based actress Daniah de Villiers grew up in Jeffreys Bay, and always had big dreams about a career in either conservation or in acting. She now speaks with a sense of wonder about her acting journey. PHOTO: Britannie Hohls
An unusual childhood
“I was a very loud child,” says Daniah as she reflects on her childhood. She grew up in Jeffreys Bay. “My parents decided I needed an outlet for my energy.”
The outlet they decided on, consequently, was drama lessons. Her teacher, whom she remembers as “a beautiful old lady”, loved her, and entered Daniah, 10-years-old at the time, and her sister into a competition. If she won, she would be given the opportunity to go to Hollywood.
“It was really about the experience, not about winning something,” she says.
But then Daniah and her sister won the competition in its entirety.
“Our whole world expanded,” she says. “Scouts started approaching us after the competition.”
The competition resulted in a lot of media exposure, says Daniah. It also resulted in her family moving from Jeffreys Bay to Cape Town, where she got her first agent.
Mia and the White Lion
The coffee has cooled down enough by now to take a sip, though a tentative one. Daniah has moved from her leaning position at the kitchen table to stand near the stove. The conversation glides into a topic that evokes a wide smile and a nostalgic laugh from her: lions.
When she recalls how she spent three years of her childhood in close proximity to lions, her face becomes animated.
In 2015, when Daniah was 12, a French production company came to South Africa to film Mia and the White Lion, a film about the relationship between a young girl and a lion. Daniah played the girl.
“In order for that to be possible, without CGI [Computer Generated Imagery], you have to build a relationship with the lion, and grow up with it over a period of three years,” she says. “It was a whole journey.”
At the time, Daniah was mentored by Kevin Richardson who is known as “the lion whisperer”.
“They got a pride of six lions, and two of the white male lions were used in the film.”
She twirls a curl around her finger before continuing.
“These lions were saved from cub-petting facilities,” she says, and mentions that these facilities remain controversial in South Africa.
Her family moved to Pretoria in order for Daniah, who was home-schooled, to harbour a relationship with one of the lions, Thor. The experience had a profound impact on her life.
“My life completely changed. I wanted to become a game ranger, I fell in love with nature… [The lions] were my best friends. I didn’t have any friends, other than lions,” she says.
The role, however, was also her most challenging one.
“The level of attachment I grew to the lions… they were my whole life,” she says.
South African actress Daniah de Villiers strongly considered a career in conservation after having played the lead role in Mia and the White Lion, a film about the relationship between a young girl and a lion. PHOTO: Britannie Hohls
Die Kantoor
Daniah’s latest project has been playing the role of Emma Engelbrecht on the Afrikaans series, Die Kantoor. The show, she says, is a take on the much-loved original British series, The Office.
The much spoken about series was filmed in Epping on a street named “Goodenough” Street. Daniah finds this amusing.
She relished the opportunity to work with “big names in the industry”, with her co-stars including comedian Schalk Bezuidenhout and actor Albert Pretorius. Bennie Fourie directed the show. “Albert Pretorius plays the lead and is absolutely brilliant,” she says. “His tenacity – I’ve learnt so much from that.”
Daniah recalls the camaraderie during the filming of the show. “The director and everyone said that it was so cool to work with a team where everyone got along,” she says.
What is unique about the show is that all the actors have to be present in the office at all times, for the sake of making the scene seem real, she explains. The directors encouraged the actors to use their own laptops and phones so they could do their own work while filming.
‘A big visionary’
Her boyfriend, filmmaker Josh Farrer, arrives at the house to pick her up. They have known one another for the past five years, and there is an ease and contentment between them.
“She has a whole bunch of dreams. She’s a big visionary,” Josh says. “She’s kind, she’s loving and she loves being around people.”
A sheet of paper entitled “Welkom Tuis” welcomes visitors to Daniah de Villiers’ Stellenbosch home. Visitors are encouraged to draw themselves on this sheet. PHOTO: Britannie Hohls
Josh and Daniah leave to attend a family event in Somerset West. On the dashboard of her car is a little toy lion. It serves as a constant reminder of the events that shaped her life, and her career.
Actress Daniah de Villiers’ car with a little lion on the dashboard. This is a physical reminder of the lion Thor, and how her role in the film Mia and the White Lion shifted her perspective. PHOTO: Britannie Hohls