FOREVER remembered as the rather dof Ryno Broekhuisen in SABC3’s Isidingo, Grant Swanby is back on the box – this time as vice- principal Victor Vester in SABC3’s new comedy, Those Who Can’t.
Absent from the small screen for some time, he says: “Actually, I have been doing quite a lot. Because I live in Cape Town, I work on a lot of international stuff – BBC’s Women In Love, NBC’S Crusoe, ITV’s The Runaways. I have also been doing a couple of local films, Skeem and White Wedding. But I haven’t done a lot of television work for SABC.
”People always stop me and say: ‘Are you still acting?’ The reality is I’m doing more now than before. On the theatre front, I’ve just finished Waiting for the Barbarians, which is based on JM Coetzee’s award-winning novel, at the Baxter. In January, I will be performing it in Montreal. We were lucky enough to work with Alexander Marine, a Russian director.”
Does his miss the soap’s routine?
“I miss the salary,” he laughs. “Whatever we do as a freelancer is always difficult because you are reliant on your next job. I miss the Isidingo family. Working there were some of the best days of my life.”
But the freedom of not being tied down to one character has its merits.
“I’m able to explore so many different characters. In a way, with a soap, you get into a rut/routine and it doesn’t stretch me as an actor. Don’t get me wrong – I would love to be on another soap. But at the same time, there is this variety of roles that I have and it’s amazing.”
Interestingly, working with director Tim Greene on Skeem was the catalyst in him getting a role in Those Who Can’t.
Swanby explains: “I’ve known him for a number of years. This came about after I worked with him on that (movie). I play this obnoxious deputy headmaster. It was so interesting that he thought of me for the role as my character in Skeem was that of the father of the girl who falls in love with a bank robber.
“It was a regular role with a bit of physicality with regards to the humour. This type of character I wasn’t familiar with. It was written in that Basil Fawlty kind of way. As an actor, you don’t want to copy something and, besides, I wouldn’t do it as well as John Cleese (laughs).”
The six-part comedy series offers a bird’s-eye view of what transpires among the, ironically enough, badly behaved staff at a school.
Swanby praises: “The thing about the show I really enjoy is that it is an idea that hasn’t been explored on TV in SA. And it isn’t your typical comedy. It has comic elements from shows like Modern Family, Fawlty Towers and Mr Bean – but with a distinctly home-grown flavour.”
Equally proud of his co-stars and their contribution to the comedic aspects unleashed on screen, he says the show works because – besides the witty writing – viewers will be able to relate to it on different levels.
With a role in Zulu, with Orlando Bloom, added to his kitty, Swanby’s career is nothing to laugh at, but he certainly knows how to keep the laughter rolling.
• Those Who Can’t is on SABC3 on Thursdays at 6.30pm.