THE Zambian film industry is today, nowhere near where it was ten or more years ago. Back then, it wasn’t common to see someone lead a successful life, living off film alone. But now, the scenario has changed.
At least so says the celebrity couple of Joe Sakala and Lissy Yambayamba-Sakala.
For those who may not know the couple, Joe and Lissy play Jairos and Ntombi respectively in popular telenovela Mpali that airs on Zambezi Magic every Monday to Thursday at 20:30 hours.
And they have quite a story too. We caught up with them to get to know more about the rising power couple, discuss the ins and outs of the entertainment industry and what the future holds for them.
Joe plays a character named Jairos, he is outspoken and a casanova of note. “This is in contrast to who I am in real life. In fact, people are normally shocked by my polarized personalities because I am actually reserved in real life,” he says.
We delved deeper into the life of the much loved “Farm Manager” from Mpali and discovered that he is also a qualified IT Specialist, and has a hidden talent - rapping. His wife Lissy is also no stranger to the small screens of Zambia. She plays Ntombi, Mr Nguzu’s fourth wife on Mpali.
Despite living a private life, the beauty took no time in taking us through the journey of how she met Joe, their marriage and the experience behind having her best friend working in the same industry and show as well as some of her hidden talents.
“We met on the set of Lusaka Heroes in 2012. In hindsight, we never thought that we would ever date or even get married…we didn’t even speak to each other,” she mentions as she giggles.
Well, in a clear, ‘no one can ever clearly predict what the future holds’ style, Joe and Lissy wedded last year on December 9 in Lusaka.
“I decided, maybe I should give him a chance in 2017 when we were working on another production called Zed Man,” says Lissy. “We actually found out that we have a lot in common and this has created a strong bond between us as we are at the advantage of doing more things with each other,” adds Joe.
As they say couples that work together, stay together, being in the same production comes as a bonus to the couple as it rehearses the script together.
They take their trade seriously and acknowledge that there is no room for jealousy when they have to play partners to other people on set. “It is only acting - a job and there are no feelings involved. We need to make our roles believable like any other trade,” says Lissy. Joe laughs before saying: “Not at all.”
They say they understand each other and don’t blur the lines between work and personal life. “You need to understand your partner and that is how it has to be in this industry. People have this perception that actors and actresses are randy, it is not always like that. You need to just understand that we do that to act,” says Lissy.
“We are like other couples, we fight, we laugh, we cry but our personal recipe that we have perfected throughout the years is to ensure that neither of us go to bed without hashing out our dislikes and what either of us might have done to tick the other off.”
Coming to how the movie industry has transformed, Joe and Lissy seem to owe it all to platforms such as Zambezi Magic for raising the bar higher than it ever was.
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“Acting, back in the days was a side hustle for most,” says Lissy.
“The pendulum has since shifted, and we are sincerely grateful for the powers that have made this possible. Zambezi Magic has really come to the party with producing quality productions and assisting us to perfect our skills and make acting a reality and a respectable trade.”
Today, because of their starring roles in the drama series, the two are mostly known by their character names of Jairos and Ntombi.
“Before my father started watching Mpali, he was shocked to hear people calling me Jairos and not Joe. That is when I knew that I was executing to the best of my ability,” he says.
Lissy adds: “People must know that those are just characters. Ntombi is totally different from Lissy,” says Lissy who warns her husband against taking in another wife.
With cards held close to their chests, Joe and Lissy say fans should expect more drama, and suspense in season three of the drama series.
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