The actress chats to us about her fierce character, detective Jill on Gold Diggers, weekdays at 8PM.
If you’ve been wondering who the gorgeous detective is on Gold Diggers, then wonder no more. We got to sit down with Schelaine Bennett, the Cape Town-born actress and presenter who plays Detective Jill.
31-year-old Schelaine is best known as presenter for the SABC 2 teen programme Hectic Nine-9. She studied dance, musical theatre and drama at the Waterfront Theatre School and went on to dance in a number of Bollywood productions. She also starred in the police drama series, Interrogation Room, the UK mini-series The Prisoner, the Mzansi Magic sitcom S.I.E.S. and the SABC 1 mini-series Goba Msenge to name a few.
Here’s what she shared with us:
Q. We love the fact that Jill is a very strong female character. What do you like the most about her?
A. She’s a very complex human being. At first she was very hard core and all about her work, but now that Zakes has come into the picture she reveals a very different side to her. I love the fact that she’s so complex but also very real about life.
Q. Have you experienced any challenges with this character?
A. Every challenge has been more like a learning curve for me. I’m a very easy going person and Jill is hard core so at first that was a challenge for me. Initially, trying to develop chemistry with Zakes (her on-screen love interest played by Lehasa Moloi) was a bit awkward. But after work shopping a lot of our scenes we started working really well together.
Q. You are from Cape Town, why did you chose to move to Johannesburg.
A. I moved to Johannesburg three years ago and it was the best decision I’ve ever made for my career. I wanted to do more local acting work and there are more opportunities for that here. I miss my family and the ocean in Cape Town, but I love the energy in Johannesburg.
Q. Do you have a dream role?
A. Yes, and you’re not allowed to laugh – I would love to be a superhero! I’ve done almost everything on-screen. From giving birth to shooting people. In my next role I would love to be a superhero so I can fly. (Laughs).
Q. What can we expect from Jill and Schelaine in the future?
A. Things are still going to escalate between Jill and Zakes. Their story is beautiful, but also very sad. With Schelaine you should expect to see her more often. I have a lot in the pipeline that I can’t speak about just yet.
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