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A humble and focused young woman, Altovise Lawrence found her career taking off as the inaugural winner of BET’s Top Actor competition series in 2015.
Thus far, she finds herself at the crossroads of two cultural worlds – that of Mzansi and the highly sought after Hollywood.
An authentic artist, she believes she isn’t where she wants to be, despite her career progression. “Fame is a by-product of the work I put in,” she says.
The actress would like to venture into lead roles in the action genre: spy series, crime thrillers and all. “I want to see more women in dominating roles that don’t require us to be the girls with the trauma. Let’s give women happy endings.”
A goal of hers is to be based globally, not just in America, but within Africa . Lawrence insists that “we are sitting on undiscovered storytelling gold on the continent, waiting to be brought to life on screen”.
When claiming her role as the only South African in The Other Side (2019), the star began to think about love differently, and the lack of black queer representation on TV.
Telling herself not to be scared, Lawrence removed herself completely to give life to making love with another woman, understanding how delicate it was, without wanting to oversexualise the interaction.
She advocates that queer love in all its complexity needs to be seen and not just heard and that experiencing it (heterosexual or otherwise) is of utmost importance.
She hopes The Other Side will present itself as an earnest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender representation, and non-stereotypical, that audiences can relate to and, if there is critique on her work, she can receive a more in-depth education on the community.
She is optimistic that the film will act as a stepping stone to grant queer men and women their own opportunities on the industry, for gay love to not only be featured on screen but to be put in the forefront of our entertainment.
When asked about who she would like to star alongside one day, Lawrence mentioned that she dreams of sharing the spotlight with the likes of local talent such as Pamela Nomvethe and Connie Ferguson.
‘It’s not about looks and hype, just The Voice!” is the payoff line for South Africa’s version of the popular reality singing competition.
But the media launch at Sasani Studios in Highlands North was about all three – looks, hype and voices. A red carpet led us into the event, hosted by the dashing, slightly greying and friendly Lungile Radu, the presenter on the show.
Guests were welcomed with gifts of selfie sticks. One was encouraged to take a selfie and share it on Twitter using the hashtag #TheVoiceSA to win a prize.
A violinist in a bubble caught everyone’s attention – especially Radu’s, who was very excited about her presence. She played hits such as Coldplay’s Viva La Vida as guests enjoyed a range of snacks, the bar overflowing.
All The Voice coaches – not judges, they hate it when you call them that – were present in the large hall decorated simply with colourful display lights.
Lira, Karen Zoid, Bobby van Jaarsveld and Kahn Morbee were all in fine form and looking hot. Lira rocked a black-lace-inset maxi dress by fashion house Black Coffee.
“I can feel the buzz, that OMG it is really here. It’s so exciting,” she enthused to City Press. “We really have good talent. Every one of the hundreds of people we auditioned was really great. It was difficult to have to turn some away ... we could only choose 14 people each.”
Blind auditions were filmed at the studios in December.
Next we were given a sneak peek of the show – let’s just say Lira is the best-loved coach and someone faints in episode two – followed by a song from Matthew Mole.
Then we got a tour of The Voice studio. Mingling in the crowd was Isidingo’s Richard Lukunku and Khanya Mkangisa, Rhythm City’s Nolo Phiri, and Carte Blanche’s Claire Mawisa and Bongani Bingwa.
After a great feast on dessert, we were pampered with hampers of all kinds of tech delights.
Although there’s been all sorts of Twitter anger at the whiteness of the judges, that wasn’t raised at the launch. The final assessment will probably have to be up to viewers tonight after the dazzling debut episode.
