Kate Pinchuck on her romcom lead role in Soos Pynappel op Pizza

You might know Kate Pinchuck from her role as Taryn in Tali’s Baby Diary and Tali’s Joburg Diary, or maybe she’s had you in stitches during one of her stand-up comedy shows. But let’s suppose you don’t know the SAFTA nominee and multiple Standard Bank Ovation award winner yet. In that case, it’s time to meet her in the Showmax Original romcom Soos Pynappel op Pizza as leading lady Becca, alongside fellow comedian and longtime friend Schalk Bezuidenhout.

Watch the trailer for Soos Pynappel op Pizza

Ahead of the romcom’s release on Valentine’s Day, Roz Els spoke to Kate to find out more about becoming a romantic leading lady. 

Pineapple on pizza?

Absolutely! I love pineapple on pizza. It's delicious. 

How did you get cast as the lead in the film?

I was approached with the idea for the movie and they said, "Do you want to work with Schalk?" We're friends, and we've done stand-up comedy together, but we hadn't acted together, so I was super excited. Schalk is very professional and works very hard, and so do I. I knew that if we were working on something together, we would give 110% and put all our energy and effort into it. We're both committed to making things as funny as possible. 

When I got asked, I initially thought we would both be playing cute little side characters because, historically, that's what I've been cast as in romcoms. Like the quirky best friend or a sister. I just assumed, "Oh, it's a romcom. I'm not usually pitched as the romantic lead, so obviously I'll be cast as Quirky Best Friend." I only realised that I was the lead when they arranged a meeting with Schalk and myself, Morné Strydom, the director, and the production company, and I was like, "Why on earth do I have to be a part of this meeting?" Then it clicked. It was cool and exciting, and scary and fun.

You and Schalk, who plays Waldo, have been friends for years. What was it like to have your friend as a love interest in the film?

We trust each other a lot, which was particularly nice because I don't know that I would have done some of the stuff I did with Schalk with someone I had just met. 

Was there a lot of improv between the two of you?

We’re comedians, so when it comes to improv… It's tough for us to think of a joke and not say it, so Schalk and I improvised quite a lot. We'd do all the lines like we were supposed to, but then we'd inevitably add stuff. 

How involved were you and Schalk with the script?

It was cool because Schalk and I got to give feedback on the script and add jokes. We were very involved with the process, which was really lovely. People don't always appreciate what stand-up comedians who are also actors can bring to the table. 

What do you like most about your character, Becca? 

I think Becca is an interesting character. She's quite sexy, sassy, and flirty, and she's very much about having a good time and hooking up with people. She’s not at all into love, which I don't think is a character that women get to play often; that's more likely to be a male character. But Becca and Waldo are the opposite of the classic romcom character tropes. They're more three-dimensional and quite flawed. They're human and quite recognisable, but still fun and quirky. 

How much of yourself did you add to the mix to portray Becca?

As we were filming, Schalk and I both realised that we're both very similar to our characters in some ways. We're very different from each other, in the same ways that Waldo and Becca are different from each other. 

I relate to Becca a lot. I definitely understand that feeling of wanting to protect yourself from being hurt and avoiding love to keep yourself safe. I did that at some point in my life. 

I'm for sure not as wild as her, or as confident – Becca walks into a room and is convinced everyone is looking at her with admiration, which is great! 

To be honest, I want to be more like Becca. You don't often see that type of confidence portrayed by a character like Becca. It's often presented as silly, but Becca isn't silly, she's not a fool. She's smart, and she's cool and she's sexy, and funny. 

You also don't see sexy and funny together in a female character very often. So there is a lot of stuff about her that I really like and that I would love to emulate. So yes, I poured a lot of myself into Becca, but also some of who I want to be. 

You're married. How did playing Becca make you reflect on your relationship?

It reminded me of when I was single and how hard that is. But it also reminded me how fun those early bits of a relationship are when you're figuring each other out. You're getting butterflies and it's so exciting and when they look at you, your heart explodes. That was cool, because I had forgotten how fun that is, and it was cool to play around with that feeling. 

Why should people watch this film?

It's a hilarious movie, really cute, really funny. I find that a lot of romcoms are all rom, no com. There aren’t a lot of funny romcoms like you had in the 90s and the 2000s anymore. But this is actually a very funny movie with very funny people. It's more raunchy than a standard family romcom, but I think that's why people will like it. It's cheeky.