Another level': Richard Lukunku on Blood Psalms' creatorsRichard Lukunku who stars as Senator Jabari, weighs in on Showmax's Blood Psalms' creators. Take a look
by Alicia Naidoo
28-09-2022 14:12
in Entertainment
Richard Lukunku weighs in on Blood Psalms creators. Image: Supplied.
SAFTA and Africa Movie Academy Awards nominee Richard Lukunku weighed in on the Blood Psalms creators.
--
RICHARD LUKUNKU STARS IN BLOOD PSALMS' Actor Richard Lukunku stars as Senator Jabari, who was sent to the Akachi citadel from the mighty Great Nziwemabwe to attend the wedding of King Letsha. But also to insist that the king give back the Northern Territories. Although the two tribes are now at peace, Great Nziwemabwe will stop at nothing to take advantage of cracks in the Akachi kingdom.
Local audiences will recognise Lukunku as Detective Phaka on Mzansi Magic's crime drama Mshika-shika. He's also a familiar face for international audiences, as Joshua in the Emmy-winning Black Sails, Patrice Lumumba in The Siege of Jadotville, and Robert Sobukwe in the Black Reel-nominated Madiba.
In Blood Psalms, Lukunku stars opposite 2022 DStv Mzansi Viewers' Choice Award and SAFTA nominee Zikhona Sodlaka (Mandisa in The Wife), who plays his mistress, Sithenjwa, who is returning to the Akachi citadel for revenge.
--
ALSO READ: Blood Psalms': Mandisa Nduna on shape-shifting misfits
Q&A WITH RICHARD LUKUNKU Tell us about your character, Senator Jabari, and his tribe, Great Nziwemabwe?
Great Nziwemabwe is like what Rome was, where Rome is the capital and the rest of the world are provinces of Rome. The southern provinces are at war and Senator Jabari is sent to come and ensure that everything runs well.
--
It's an interesting role: you know that you've got the power of the kingdom behind you. If you don't like something, you're going to say what you're going to say. If you feel disrespected by the king, you're going to exercise the power that's being given to you.
How was the shoot?
It was an amazing experience. Jahmil [XT Qubeka, the director behind South African Oscar entries Knuckle City and Sew The Winter To My Skin) gave me space to perform, to characterise, trying to get things as authentic as possible. How did these people walk? How do they talk? If you're not walking and talking like they would, you have to ask, Please, can I have another take?' It's three o'clock in the morning, but you need to get it right. Getting it right was more important than comfort.
Nobody was shooting during the pandemic. During that time, Layla [Swart, co-creator and executive producer of Blood Psalms) found the budgets that she needed to get to feed families. We were all dying; nobody had worked. But because of Layla's hard work and tenacity, she really kept us alive. Layla kept 300 families alive, you know what I mean?
What's different about Blood Psalms?
The representation is insane. A Xhosa character speaks Xhosa; a Zulu person speaks Zulu. The different African cultures are represented. Jahmil knew exactly how to represent Africa when he was writing the script and he got it one hundred percent right. But it's not just a history lesson. It's a living, breathing world that mixes many styles and ideas. Blood Psalms is authentic and also something much more. I can't wait for people to experience it.
Why should audiences watch Blood Psalms?
Everything on Blood Psalms is looking amazing. It looks unbelievable; it feels real. You feel like you are there, at that time. It's just incredible.
But that's what I expected from the best production company in South Africa right now, with the best producer and the best director. These guys are on another level, like an insane level of creativity.
ALSO READ: Blood Psalms': Get to know the horrible' Queen Assili [watch]
Are you a true Uzalo' soapie superfan? Take part in our quiz and WIN R1 000 in cash!
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
14/11/2026
Longtime MLB Network employee David Maybrown passed away Thursday at the age of 57. David joined MLB Network in 2009 shortly after its launch, beginning as an i...
14/11/2026
Modular innovators introduce two guitar-based products
ADDAC System's recently introduced Four String Series makes it possible to integrate physical str...
14/11/2026
Marcelo Dai's Live Session Captured with URSA Cine Immersive
Brie Clayton November 14, 2026
0 Comments
Artist takes viewers on an immersive journe...
14/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
14/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
14/11/2026
Newest Lenses, Horizon Anamorphic Seminar & Guided Lens Character Experience Highlight Creative Possibilities
At the 2026 Toru CAMERIMAGE Film Festival, ZEISS...
14/11/2026
Sonnet Announces Black Friday Sale on Select Products
Brie Clayton November 14, 2026
0 Comments
WHAT: Sonnet Technologies is having a sale on a select...
14/11/2026
Berklee Alumni Shine at the 2026 Latin Grammy Awards This year's winners included songwriters, engineers, and performers who contributed to acclaimed reco...
13/11/2026
The UIM E1 Series wraps its third season this week with the Bombay Sapphire E1 Miami GP, Nov. 11-14, on Biscayne Bay at the Miami Seaplane Base on Watson Island...
13/11/2026
In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level ha...
13/11/2026
Singer-songwriter Benson Boone will headline entertainment for the Discover NHL Winter Classic between the Utah Mammoth and Colorado Avalanche at Rice-Eccles St...
13/11/2026
Blackmagic Design has announced the Blackmagic Ambisonic Microphone, a 7th order ambisonic microphone array that captures spatial audio for immersive video prod...
13/11/2026
SMPTE has announced that The Studio B&H and Riedel Communications will provide the video infrastructure and communications technology for the Solutions Hub at t...
13/11/2026
The Hollywood Professional Association (HPA) has announced the theme and program focus for the 2027 HPA Tech Retreat, which takes place Feb. 14-18, 2027, in La ...
13/11/2026
Football Manager 27 Touch is available on Apple Arcade starting today. The game ...
13/11/2026
MotoGP has announced a two-year media rights agreement with ESPN covering the Un...
13/11/2026
Apple Sports, the free iPhone app, has added the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) to its lineup of supported sports, in time for Saturday's UFC 334. The...
13/11/2026
The NBA and Fanatics Studios, the joint venture between Fanatics and entertainme...
13/11/2026
ESPN held its annual EDGE Innovation Conference last night and offered up an ove...
13/11/2026
Regional sports network gives Ithaca College, SUNY Cortland students a platform to thrive
One of the biggest games in Division III college football will be pla...
13/11/2026
Studer-inspired 500-series PWM compressor unveiled
The HLabs range already includes a couple of Studer-inspired offerings in the form of the PRE169 and EQ16...
13/11/2026
Download Now!
To view the white paper, please enter the following details:
--
First Name* First Name
Company*
Country* Please select your countryA...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Blue Lucy, the workflow orchestration and integration platform for broadcasters, rights owners and localisation companies, today announced an integration with c...
13/11/2026
Krotos announces Black Friday offers on Studio Pro and Studio Max
Brie Clayton November 12, 2026
0 Comments
First-year annual plans start at US$195.99...
13/11/2026
Blackmagic Design Announces Blackmagic Ambisonic Microphone
Brie Clayton November 12, 2026
0 Comments
New 7th order ambisonic microphone with 108 MEMS...
13/11/2026
Meet the Berklee Student Setting Planetary Motion to Music With his compositional platform SoniKosmos, Javier Roqueni aims to make the universe the ultimate i...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , er...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , er...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Amagi, the media industry cloud company, today announced a partnership with Golden Times Media Technology (stock code 920021.BJ), a Beijing-based media and tech...
13/11/2026
CGI (TSX: GIB.A) (NYSE: GIB), one of the largest independent IT and business consulting services firms in the world, together with its Malaysian partner, Cedar ...
13/11/2026
SMPTE, the home for media professionals, technologists and engineers, today announced that The Studio B&H and Riedel Communications will provide the video infra...
13/11/2026
iWedia, a global leader in connected TV software solutions, will present its software-first approach to DRAM optimization at Android TV APAC Summit 2026 in Bang...
13/11/2026
Beginning today, November 13, Apple HomeView is available for purchase at Apple Store locations, on the Apple Store online, and in the Apple Store app in select...
13/11/2026
From pediatric research to smart hospitals, AI is helping care teams spend less time on routine tasks and more time with patients.
Health systems and startups...
12/11/2026
Industry leaders examine how Dynamic Media Facility, Media eXchange Layer, and c...
12/11/2026
The junior Tar Heel is embracing the technical and creative challenges of live production while emerging as a leader and mentor in the control room...
12/11/2026
Gracenote, Nielsen's content intelligence business, has released its fifth a...
Another level': Richard Lukunku on Blood Psalms' creatorsRichard Lukunku who stars as Senator Jabari, weighs in on Showmax's Blood Psalms' creators. Take a look 
