IN CONVERSATION WITH MARIÉ BOTHA

interview by JANA LETONJA

South African actress Marié Botha is known for her stage work in productions such as ‘BLKS’ ‘You Lost Me’ and ‘Peerless’. She co-produced and starred in a sold-out run of Sarah Kane’s ‘Blasted’ at the DUO Theater Off-Broadway. Her on screen work includes starring roles in the independent feature film ‘Highway One’ and the Hollyshorts Official Selection short film ‘Manic(quin)’. Currentlyl, Botha stars on HBO’s crime drama series ‘The Penguin’. 

You left South Africa at the age of 18 to pursue your dreams of acting. Can you tell us more about what drove that decision and how your journey has been since moving to New York? 

I always fear it’s cliché to say that acting is something I’ve wanted to pursue ever since I was little, but I’ve since decided to own that. Because it’s true. When I was five years old and played Snow White in my Kindergarten production, I marched up to my dad after the play and said this is what I want to do forever. Not all parents take their five year old’s plans too seriously, but my dad did. When I was 17 years old, we took a walk on the beach in Hermanus, and he said it was time we started to put together a roadmap. 

We decided on New York because some of the best acting schools in the world are situated in the Big Apple, and we wanted to shoot for the moon. I ended up getting accepted into The Meisner Studio at NYU Tisch School of the Arts and soon after I had ripped open my acceptance letter, I had a plane ticket in my hand. Armed with nothing but a South African accent and a brave little heart, I moved 8000 miles away from home and started building my dream. 

New York is a magical, ruthless place, much like the industry. I found that out the hard way after graduating with a BFA and no job in sight. I counted my lucky stars when after I decided to give graduate school a try, I got into Yale School of Drama. I moved back to New York after graduating with my MFA in Acting and continued to hustle. I was lucky enough to be a part of two Off-Broadway productions, and to guest star as Mary Bowles in ‘Dickinson’ in the years following, but nothing could have prepared me for the collosal success that is ‘The Penguin’. 

Having spent 14 years in New York, how has living in such a vibrant, diverse city shaped you both personally and professionally? 

New York is a different place every single day. I have been so many people in New York. I have been the bright-eyed young Marié walking into her NYU dorm and wrestling with an American accent, I have been the heartbroken Marié crying over a boy in the falling snow outside the Starbucks on Astor Place, I have been the Marié who was a SoulCycle instructor just walking back from a 6 am Rooster class in the West Village when she got the call that she was accepted to Yale School of Drama. I am now the Marié who is sitting in her Clinton Hill apartment pinching myself that I got to play a real life Batman villain. 

I don’t know who I am without New York. I have been here for almost half my life now. It shapes everything I do, who I love, how I speak. New York has an invisible pulse that keeps going and keeps pushing you to “try again, fail again, fail better”. Coming from South Africa, a country already so diverse and rich in culture, it took less time than I thought to feel right at home. 

You hold both a BFA from NYU Tisch and an MFA from Yale School of Drama. How did your education at these prestigious institutions prepare you for your career in stage and screen acting? 

I had the honor and privilege to be taught by one of the greats, Ron Van Lieu, at Yale. The way he teaches will always be something I carry with me. I remember he said one day, “You don’t have to be great. You just have to be good”. It makes me think of Mary Oliver’s ‘Wild Geese’ and I get teary eyed every time I hear him say it in my head. 

Both NYU and Yale taught me to be thin-skinned. It’s tough being vulnerable and opening yourself up to experiencing all sorts of emotions is counter-intuitive, especially in a city like New York and an industry like this one. But that is the ticket. If you live with an open heart and open eyes as an artist, the world opens itself up to your imagination. That is how you embody another person, another character. That is how you reach people. 

The training in voice, speech and dialect, script analysis and movement all allowed me to stay open, to take care of my instrument. My classmates kept me humble, kept my feet on the ground and inspired me every day. It is a combination of all of the above that allows me to step onto a stage or in front of the camera, and feel the freedom to play, to be spontaneous and more than anything to listen and absorb absolutely everything around me. Whether it’s as trivial as a squashed lantern fly on the sidewalk, or as invaluable as an old Magpie comic book from the 80s. 

How has your South African heritage influenced your approach to acting, if at all? Do you find that it brings a unique perspective to your roles? 

I have recently started to work on my auditions in my South African accent first, before I layer on the accent actually asked for. I find that it helps me to start at my roots. My therapist is South African, as well. I feel I express myself best when I am speaking in Afrikaans. 

I think I definitely feel like being proudly South African makes me feel stronger when I take on intimidating tasks. My mom always says “Remember where you come from and who you are, and straighten your crown”. When I remember where I come from, running around barefoot everywhere, living in the most spectacular naturescapes, immersed in the richest of cultures and diversity, there is a calm that comes over me and allows me to focus and to infuse my work with all of those layers. 

You’ve worked on several Off-Broadway productions, including ‘BLKS’ and ‘Peerless’. What draws you to theater, and how does performing on stage compare to your work in film and television? 

Theater will always be my first love. I have been a theater actress for most of my career, so that is what I know like the back of my hand. To get to be in a rehearsal room, where the cast and creatives become like family, and then to showcase this living, breathing piece of art to a different audience every night for weeks on end is a special kind of magic. 

Robert O’Hara, director of ‘BLKS’, and myself have known each other for 14 years now. He was actually my script analysis teacher in my freshman year at NYU. Getting to work with him in a professional capacity years down the line was absolutely a full circle moment and I live for those in the artist community. That is also the special thing about being a part of the Yale community. We all try to work with one another as much as possible. I understudied ‘Peerless’ in my first year at Yale where Margot Bordelon directed it for the first time, and then years later I got to actually play the same role on an Off-Broadway stage with her at the helm once more. I guess I am a magnet for full circle moments, and I’m not complaining about that. 

I am newer to film and television, and let me tell you, it’s a whole other animal. Especially working on a show like ‘The Penguin’. I was mind-blown and quaking in my boots when I walked onto set the very first day, but as soon as the nerves settled and I really started living inside Arkham and letting my research and preparation guide the way, I fell in love with the medium. I am hungry for more, more characters, more experiences working on camera in productions of this calibre. This is a muscle I am dying to keep developing. 

Co-producing and starring in a sold-out run of Sarah Kane’s ‘Blasted’ must have been a challenging experience. What was that process like, and how did it impact you as an actor and producer? 

It was funny because I had the idea in my junior year at NYU. I was 21. I am in awe of my 21 year old self because she was so utterly fearless. I had auditioned for NYU with a monologue from ‘4.48 Psychosis’ by Sarah Kane, and had been taken deeply by her work. 

One day I just decided that I was going to take an academic semester and produce a play in New York. Simple as that. The work that ensued was grueling, albeit so satisfying. I worked with my partner at the time, and in addition to starring in the play ourselves, after rehearsals we would be up until 4 am working on the production side of things, raising money, boosting marketing, all flying by the seat of our pants.

I actually cannot believe we pulled it off. We ran for two weeks at the DUO Theater on East 4th street, and we sold out. Every seat was filled. I’d like to find the nerve to do something like that again. 

You’re starring as the DC villain Magpie in HBO’s ‘The Penguin’, which is part of the Batman universe. Can you tell us about this character and what drew you to this role? 

Magpie or Margaret Pye is a DC Comics villain that was first created in 1986. She has a penchant for shiny, valuable things, which eventually drives her mad. In the comics she is part of the Batman “Rogues gallery” and is a jewel thief who replaces the jewels she steals with explosive replicas. She’s pretty badass. 

I got to play her at the end of her career in ‘The Penguin’, when she has already been stuck in Arkham Asylum for a number of years. She is in the cell next door to Sofia Falcone, and first speaks to her neighbour through a tiny rivet hole in the wall. She has a high-pitched, childlike voice with a certain dissonance that makes her all the more creepy and disturbing. Later on, we see her in the mess hall with Sofia and the other inmates, and we get to know her a little bit and how desperate she is to befriend Sofia and have her stay in Arkham. 

Because Magpie is obsessed with shiny things, I made Sofia a shiny thing for her. It was especially great to have the first scene be through a small hole in the wall so that Magpie actually physically couldn’t get too close to Sofia, and that added to the almost rabid desperation I got to play with to reach her. I was drawn to the role because I mean, who doesn’t want to play a Batman villain?

Magpie is known for her split personality and unhinged behavior. How did you approach this complex character, and what was it like stepping into the Batman universe? 

When embodying an iconic character that already has a lot of lore surrounding them, you have to start out with the cold hard facts. I immediately went on eBay and tracked down every comic featuring Magpie I could find. After diving deep into them, I put together a thorough character study. We encounter her after her intense journey as a villain, so I needed to unpack her emotional and psychological backstory, ensuring those layers shone through on screen. I aimed to stay true to her comic roots, especially her obsession with shiny things, so I made Sofia her “shiny thing”. Sofia embodies everything Magpie desires: fame, wealth, and polish. Capturing Magpie's deep desperation in her attempts to befriend Sofia was crucial, especially since I had to make the most of the scenes I had. 

I drew inspiration from all my favorite villains — Helena Bonham Carter as Bellatrix Lestrange, Paul Dano as the Riddler, Margot Robbie’s Harley Quinn. I also explored films like ‘Girl, Interrupted’ for insights into psychiatric institutions. Magpie has a lot of childlike qualities, which reminded me of characters like Brittany Murphy’s Daisy and Elisabeth Moss’ Penny. And then I also sprinkled a little Marié in there, of course. My favourite characters have always been the villains, dating all the way back to Captain Hook and Cruella Deville, so I had my lighthouses. 

In this version of the Batman universe, Magpie has not been featured. The world Matt Reeves and Lauren Lefranc created in ‘The Penguin’ is so human and gritty and powerful, and these characters are all new interpretations of their comic book selves. Because of this, I felt I had the freedom to shape my own interpretation of this beautiful, tortured character as well. She really became special to me throughout the process. 

In addition to your acting career, you have a love for fashion. How does fashion influence your day-to-day life, and do you see it as another form of self-expression, similar to acting? 

My mother, Cecilie, is my fashion icon. There is not an outfit she puts on that I am not wowed by. The thing she always strives for is understated elegance. Her closet is meticulous, every single item has meaning and is of the utmost quality. 

I am trying more and more to operate like that. My childhood friend Alexa Schempers just started a brand called Rethread. It’s a Cape Town based sustainable clothing brand, selling new, upcycled and vintage garments. Her clothes are the epitome of understated elegance, and I own quite a few pieces now. 

I think in terms of self-expression, in my personal life and style, understated elegance is what I’m going for. It’s in the characters I play where I like to get more messy, gritty and fantastical. 

You’re also a self-professed foodie. What are some of your favorite restaurants or dishes, whether in New York or during your travels? 

There are culinary moments that have literally changed my life. I love food and restaurants that tell a story with their ingredients and their spaces. In New York, Buvette in the West Village feels like you’ve stepped into Paris. It is a tiny, bustling space that serves up the best escargot and steak tartare and chocolate mousse in the city. In London, at a small wine bar called Noble Rot, they serve up a Haggis dish on Burns Night that tastes like a smashburger. In Cape Town, at The Dog’s Bollocks, you can find a piri-piri chicken liver dish that will rock your world. And then of course, in my parents’ backyard you will experience a braai of lamb chops and boerewors and braaibroodjies that feels like the warmest hug. 

What can you share with us about your upcoming projects? 

I just wrapped on an independent film where I starred opposite Mickey Sumner and Josh Hamilton. It was produced by my dear friends Lauren Ebner and Nick Grau. It’s going to be a goodie. I am also in the beginning stages of a project that I am writing and creating myself, which is exciting. I guess I might have the nerve I was talking about earlier. More on that soon. 

TEAM CREDITS:
photography JSQUARED PHOTOGRAPHY
styling GABRIEL LANGENBRUNNER
hair DALLIN JAMES
makeup ROBERT RYAN
production TFG