Modern Athlete Magazine Issue 131, June 2020 June 2020 | Page 38

RACE WALKING
Dreaming big!
Reggie in Cowboy Dan
with Brandon Daniels
wherever I could. Unfortunately, that job didn’t last
very long, and that led to a period of real struggle for
me, where I really came to understood what it meant
to be depressed,” he says.
“It felt like I was going nowhere, because my
relationship with writing and music was up and
down, and I didn’t get any acting work, just a few
commentary jobs here and there. Thankfully, a few
people really helped me, but it was a difficult time. A
bit later I got involved with former SA 1500 Champ
Johan Cronje and his brother Hendrick, who is an
actor, writer and director, at their film production
company, Kompanjie Stories. They welcomed me and
gave me work behind the scenes, and when I told
them I am also a writer, they encouraged me to write
as well. Since then, I have been working on a movie
script, which I believe will be made some day.”
Acting Breakthrough
Good news arrived in early 2018, when Reggie
received a call from a production company he had
worked with before, to offer him a role in the short
film, Cowboy Dan, being made for Kyknet Silwerskerm
Festival. “I had not auditioned for much of anything for
a while, so the call came out of the blue. Fortuantely
they were shooting it in Cape Town, so I was in the
right place, and I got to play alongside Brandon
Daniels, a highly respected actor that everybody
wants to work with.”
Cowboy Dan was nominated for four awards at the
festival, with Brandon winning Best Actor, and the
film taking the Best Editing award, and Reggie says it
was the highlight of the year for him, but when things
went quiet again after that, he slipped back into an
emotionally low state. “Things stated changing for
me when I began focusing on myself, spending more
time alone, meditating and visualising going after my
dreams. Then I watched film about guy who made it
in Hollywood. In the film, he said, ‘If I don’t make it in
six months, I will leave,’ so I told myself, ‘Reggie, this
is your chance, so go for it.’ I wrote down my dreams
and hopes in my affirmation book, one of which was
to be cast for one of SA’s biggest soapies in 2019,
and then I decided to move back to Joburg in January
2019 to pursue my dreams as a performer.”
Not long after the move, Reggie auditioned for Die
Spreeus and returned to Cape Town for two weeks
of shooting, which he describes as an amazing
experience, and it was while there that the phone rang
with more good news. “My agent called to say there’s
a role for me to audition for in Generations. I told him I
was shooting in Cape Town, so I had to make a video
to send in, and a few days later I heard I had landed
the role of Luke. It was originally supposed to be just a
three-day role, but then they asked if I was interested
in extending the role, and it’s now been going for more
than a year. In the meantime, I also got work in Huis
Leliefeld, and I’ve been told by fans that they’re looking
forward to seeing more of both characters in coming
months. That was incredible to hear!”
The Adventure Continues
Ironically, things actually almost came full circle earlier
this year, when Reggie was due to play a leading role in
the stage production, Die Atleet, at the Arts Festival in
Grahamstown. Based on a true story and produced by
well-known actor and producer Lizz Meiring, the story
was about a young man from the Eastern Cape with a
gangster father and alcoholic mother, who ends up in
a state-run children’s home. A woman doing welfare
work at the home spots the shy child’s obvious athletic
talent, as she was herself an athlete, and she realises
he has the potential to do well in race walking. The
relationship that develops between them is ultimately a
turning point in both their lives, and it is a story about
not only athletics, but also survival and triumph.
Sadly, the entire Klein Karoo Arts Festival was
cancelled due to the COVID-19 lockdown, but Reggie
remains excited about the coming months. Last year at
the Silwerskerm Festival, he entered one of his works
in the script competition, and it ended up as one of the
winning scripts to be selected. “That was a real boost
for me, and I was very encouraged by the support and
encouragement from people in industry. For example,
to get a call from Willie Esterhuizen, the creator of
Vetkoek Paleis and producer of Huis Leleieveld… that’s
huge for me! I’m grateful to be surrounded by such
supportive people, and I am excited to see where
things will go from here,” he says.
As for keeping fit, Reggie says he still runs quite a lot
to get exercise and maintain his health, and he says he
enjoys using different muscles, while it is nice to be out
and about, but he is not actively doing any race walking
for the moment. “I am focused on my acting and music
right now, but I do plan to get involved in walking again,
as it is the sport that got me through university and
opened doors for me. It will always be part of me.”
The main cast of Huis Lelieveld
Another music single release
Give It a Listen
You can check out Reggie Peace’s music on Soundcloud at https://soundcloud.com/peacemaker-26, or watch his music vid for
the song Move at www.youtube.com/watch?v=-7kXAChEGPI.
Images: xxxx
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ISSUE 131 JUNE 2020 / www.modernathlete.co.za