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 38 ISSUE 131 JUNE 2020 / www.modernathlete.co.za