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Anel Alexander
Actress, Presenter, Singer and Producer
Anel Alexander is most known for her roles in two of South Africa’s most popular, local daily soap operas ‘7de Laan’ and ‘Binnelanders’, and the box office hit feature films ‘Semi-Soet’ and ‘Faan se Trein’.
Believing that one must never underestimate the power of hard work, Anel started her professional career whilst still studying Drama at the University of Pretoria. She appeared at the State Theatre in the musicals ‘The Witness’ and ‘Jesu - An African Portrait’ and also joined theatre legend Nicholas Ellenbogen on stage at the KKNK in the play ‘The Calitzdorp Passion’. She graduated Cum Laude in 2002 and stepped out of varsity onto the books of one of the top agents in SA’s showbiz industry.
Soon she was seen showing off her musical and dancing abilities in the cabaret show ‘Blondes’ but it wasn’t long before she found herself snatched up by ‘7de Laan’ to play their ‘ugly duckling turns swan beauty’, Liesl. Since then, she’s been in front of the camera involved in well known TV shows like, ‘Zero Tolerance 3’, ‘Amalia 2’, ‘City Ses’la’, ‘Hillside’, ‘Rhythm City’, ‘Getroud met Rugby’ and the sexy SABC 3 drama ‘The Mating Game’. Most recently she starred in the hugely popular Kyknet drama series, ‘Donkerland’ and was part of the lead cast for the SABC 2 drama series ‘Geraamtes in die Kas’.
In between her TV work Anel’s love for the theatre has kept her involved in many arts festival productions, of which a highlight was ‘Bosryk’ where she shared the stage with Afrikaans theatre icon, Gys de Villiers. She also co-produced and performed in the popular ‘Discreet, Upmarket, 24/7’ at the Grahamstown National Artsfestival (2005 & 2006) and KKNK (2006). At the end of 2007 Anel starred opposite Steve Hofmeyr as his wife in the Afrikaans musical ‘Dis hoe dit was – Die Steve Hofmeyr Storie’ in the State Theatre.
Anel regularly MC’s big corporate events and functions ranging from charity events to car launches and Women’s mornings. She is also a well-known presenter and has been seen as the female anchor for SABC 2’s magazine show, ‘3:16’ and presenting the spicy arts and entertainment program, ‘Artcha’. She has also appeared as a guest presenter for ‘Pasella’, on SABC 2.
Anel’s primary passion though is film, and together with her husband, James Alexander, and their company, Scramble Productions, she produced the local independent films ‘Discreet’ and ‘Semi-Soet’. Not only did she help secure the funding, produce and promote the films, but she also played the leading lady in both productions. ‘Discreet’ released in November of 2008 and was hailed by critics as a triumph for SA indie cinema. The film went on to secure an international release in 2011 through Green Apple Entertainment. ‘Semi-Soet’ released in February 2012 and became one of the highest grossing Afrikaans films ever made and topped local box office charts for 2012.
Anel also starred in the romantic comedy ‘Klein Karoo’ and will soon be seen in the Afrikaans Romance ‘Mooirivier’.
In between her work in the local entertainment industry, Anel is a dedicated wife to husband, James, and places a lot of importance on her close relationships with family and friends. She realises that in an industry which is fickle and subjective, one needs to find stability elsewhere and for her, that stability is her faith and her loved ones.
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IMDb Profile
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James Alexander
Actor and Producer
One of South Africa's up and coming leading men, James Alexander, is a versatile performer in both English and Afrikaans. A natural talent, he has honed his skills over more than 10 years of working as a professional actor and involving himself in exciting and challenging projects.
Of Scottish descent, James has been featured in a host of international productions like ‘Strike Back’ for SKY1 in the UK, opposite Richard Armitage and Jhodi May, the hugely popular ‘Wild at Heart’ for ITV, ‘The Runaways’ for the BBC, ‘The Sisters’ also for the BBC ‘The Sinking of the Laconia’ and ‘To the Ends of the Earth’.
On South African TV he has done everything from live presenting on the hit M-Net reality show ‘Project Fame’ to acting in popular soapie-dramas like ‘Binnelanders’ and ‘Isidingo’. Film though, is where James' real passion lies. Having played the leading role in ‘The Eastern Bride’, a Dutch / SA co-production, James showed himself to have a captivating on-screen presence. He then went on to play the lead in the critically acclaimed feature film, ‘Discreet’, opposite his wife, actress Anel Alexander.
James is constantly in demand for TV roles and has most recently been seen on local TV playing the hero, Tristan from ‘The Wild’, the gentle hearted English farmer, James in ‘Donkerland’, the serial killer Graham in ‘Scandal’ and the narcissist-genius, ever-inappropriate Gavin in ‘Geraamtes in die Kas’.
His theatre career has seen him perform in comedies such as Alan Ayckbourn's ‘Damsels in Distress’ and ‘The Unexpected Guest’ for Pieter Toerien, to the timeless drama ‘Hedda Gabler’ by Henrik Ibsen, playing opposite the great Trix Pienaar.
An accomplished vocalist, James has also appeared on stage at the State Theatre playing leads in both ‘The Witness’ and ‘Houtkruis’. More recently, James has tackled more challenging roles having played the controversial character John in Neil Labute’s ‘Bash’ and Father Brendan Flynn in John Patrick Shanley’s ‘Doubt: A Parable’. He received critical acclaim for both roles.
James is also a prolific voice performer and one of the most versatile in that field. His ability to interpret a script and his knack for characters and accents have seen him voice commercials for big brands like McDonalds, Volvo, Outsurance, DSTV and Ford. He is also one of the lead character voices in the locally produced animation series, ‘The Adventures of Toby’.
Continually developing himself, James started to hone his writing skills with the popular play ‘Discreet Upmarket 24/7’. He subsequently enjoyed being a part of the writing team for the hugely popular SABC comedy series, ‘City Ses'La’. He continues to develop stories for both theatre and TV whilst pursuing his primary passion, performing.
His next foray into writing was with the development team for Scramble Productions’ latest feature ‘Semi-Soet’. The movie, which James also produced, was a box office sensation, becoming one of the highest grossing Afrikaans films of all time.
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