Thabiso Rammusi on portraying a married man in Adulting

Actor, presenter and dancer Thabiso Rammusi talks about his role in the Showmax Original drama series Adulting.

Rammusi plays the character of Mpho, who is a family man. He has a beautiful but demanding wife, private-school kids and a house in the burbs. He also has a hot side piece, the source of joy in his otherwise mundane life, but when she turns his world upside down, Mpho has to make sense of what is happening to him.

Adulting is an eight-part drama series set in the parallel universes of four varsity friends - Bonga, Vuyani , Mpho and Eric. Their strong bond has held them together even as their journeys in life have taken them in very different directions. This intriguing series which delves into these four guys’ lives as they navigate the traps of adulting. 

Watch the trailer for Adulting

We spoke to Thabiso about being part of this Showmax Original, playing a married man and how challenging it was to bring this role to life.

The first time you read the script of Adulting, what was your reaction?

First of all, I’m a married man, and so it gets tricky when you have a role that includes certain scenes where you have to first talk to your partner, but the story was very interesting. I felt like it was breaking walls that we haven’t really touched on as an industry in South Africa. 

So I thought, I’m just going to go for this role and audition, and leave everything else to God. I got a second call back and before I knew it there was a chemistry test. So I sat down with my partner and we decided, if it lands, it lands. It landed and I’m here today.

Without giving us any spoilers, what was one scene you found most challenging?

My most interesting scene was when Mpho came home drunk. I never like playing a drunk person, it’s very tricky. But doing that scene, I learnt about what Mpho was going through in his internal world and what he was experiencing happening around him. That scene in particular taught me a lot because how I had to approach it was very challenging. 

In a technical sense as an actor, I came out of that set having learnt a lot about playing a drunk person. Personally I always refer back to my situation as Thabiso - I’m married so I connect so much with Mpho. There are certain things that happen in married people’s lives that I will always refer back to as I know it.

Of all the characters, besides the one you play, which one do you envy or would you want to play?

A character I would envy? No one! (laughing) 

 In terms of a character I would play, it would definitely be Bonga. His transition and how he kept loyalty within his friends despite his life moving so quickly. His life was moving at a rapid pace yet he continued to stay grounded. I respect that about him as a character. Of course we’re speaking about Bonga the character.

Apart from their characters, what have you learnt from the other gents as actors and as sort-of friends?

Well, it’s not just sort of, we’re really friends. The water runs deep! It’s something I didn’t expect but it was lovely meeting the gents and getting to work with them.

I think with BU, it’s empathy. He’s a loving dude and he exercises that everywhere. You’d think you are a nice person but damn that guy is nice. 

With Nhlanhla, I would say he’s a spiritual guy. The conversations that we would sit and talk about offset are spiritually related. I believe we all have a journey in life and when we look at the situation we’re in we would show each other how we approach each situation. We’ve had strong conversations. 

Then Bonga, ah, man, Thembinkosi is a blast! We’re always laughing when he’s around. He has grit and discipline. I think that’s one of the things I’ve learnt from him, discipline.

Adulting is about gents trying to navigate through life. What would be your one message to the male viewers?

There’s a lot to take from the story because each and every character has their own dynamics and there’s different things to learn from all those characters. I’d say for the character I play, there’s a lot you can take as a married man. Because there’s that untold truth we will be revealing in the story. Things that women want to know about men.

What happens in a married man’s mind - here we’re talking stats because I remember one of the things I asked was how much research went into developing the story. I think that’s why I resonate with it as a married man. All these things ring true and will touch a lot of people.

What are your three tips to surviving adulting?

These are my top three tips to surviving adulting. First one, use a condom. Second  one, manage your money well. Manage it like an adult. The last one, don’t go out until too late. You’re an adult, just chill, drink some water and have some rest.

All episodes of Adulting are ready to binge on Showmax.