Fast track to fame

Spinners, the first African series selected in competition at Canneseries (the Cannes International Series Festival), has new episodes available on Wednesdays until December 27. A co-production between Showmax and CANAL+, Spinners follows Ethan, a 17-year-old driver working for a gang on the Cape Flats. Needing to support his younger brother but increasingly disgusted by gang life, Ethan discovers a possible way out via spinning, an extreme motorsport where he can put his driving skills to better use. With a gang war looming, can he turn his life around fast enough? 

Spinners won three awards at the Dakar Series festival, including Best TV Series; received standing ovations in Cannes in Paris and at Silwerskerm in Cape Town; and was the opening night screening at MIP Africa, generating rave reviews. Much of the praise is for the performances, especially for Cantona James as Ethan and Elton Landrew as Damien.

As entertainment website Fortress of Solitude says: “Keep an eye out for Elton Landrew’s Damien, the gangster with a soft side. The word on the street is that this role is set to skyrocket him to stardom, snagging awards left, right and centre. It’s easy to see why. Landrew steals every scene.” Since originating the role of young Kat on stage in Kat and the Kings by David Kramer and Taliep Petersen, Landrew has had prominent roles in TV shows such asArendsvlei, Suidooster, Sara se Geheim and Recipes for Love and Murder. In Spinners, he plays Damien, who, in addition to being a husband and a father, is the leader of one of the Cape Flats’ notorious gangs.

Caryn Welby-Solomon caught up with Elton to find out more.

Describe Spinners?

It's an exposė of a culture that's big in South Africa but not as famous as other sports. Some have compared it to Breaking Bad, but it reminds me of Need for Speed or The Fast and the Furious. 

Were you into spinning before the series?

I didn’t really know about it. I'd never been to a spinning event before. Acting is great like that: we're exposed to opportunities on sets that we might not have been able to experience in real life.

Describe Damien?

He's a bad guy; I play the villain in the series. It was interesting to play a bad guy for a change. I was surprised to get this role because I’m playing opposite DJ Mouton [who plays Tony] and Brendon Daniels [who plays Hercules] — fantastic actors. I thought I was going to be one of their sidekicks but ended up being the top boss. I'm fortunate to have worked with Ricardo Arendse [the translator] and Jaco Bouwer [the director] before, so they knew my skills as an artist. They thought I was fit to play the character of Damien, with all his layers.

Damien is very different from Piet on Recipes for Love and Murder. But not so different from your role on Arendsvlei?

Yes, I played a character called Steve in Arendsvlei, who felt similar to Damien. That character had a big impact on the Afrikaans viewing audience; people still stop me on the street because of him.

How did Spinners come about?

Benjamin [Hoffman] and Joachim [Landau], the French producers of the show, came to South Africa to make a documentary about the culture. Their research took them to the competitions and they started connecting with people. The stories they were told inspired them to create the series.

Why did you want to be part of Spinners?

It was important to showcase the coloured community, the backdrop of the Cape Flats and the reality of where these people come from. Because gangsterism in Cape Town is a huge part of our culture and our heritage, it’s difficult playing these parts and wanting to send out a good message. These characters do exist in Cape Town and many young people, such as Ethan, get trapped in situations they can’t escape.

Why should people watch it?

There’s an edge to Spinners, in line with young people and spinning culture. It’s going to blow up.  We have wonderful young actors like Cantona James, who have great futures ahead of them. 

Stream Spinners on Showmax