Two local Cape Town actors have landed big roles in an upcoming intense, nail-biting Netflix series filmed in Cape Town.

“Unseen” is set in Cape Town and displays the various landscapes and city aesthetics.

It follows the life of Zenzile “Zenzi”, played by Gail Mabalane, who has had her fair share of pain and challenges, and without knowing the very thing that turned her life upside down becomes her oblivious revenge.

Cape Town actor Brendon Daniels, who plays the series’ villain Raymond, said that it was important for him to find the human element of the character to give it life.

“I had to interrogate the elements of Raymond that made him human. We are not born hard and evil, and I often would ask the character internally, ‘What would your mother say, Raymond?’ each time the character got himself into more trouble,” he said.

Daniels, whose performance leaves no stone unturned, balancing a mix of evil and softness with ease, said he walked in the character’s shoes before portraying him so that he could understand and feel the character.

Local Cape Town comedian and actor Shimmy Isaacs leaves one wanting more in the role of Alice. She said that being a Cape Town actor, working with seasoned Johannesburg actors was an experience she thoroughly enjoyed and loved.

“We were exceptionally close. Gail, Dineo (Langa) and I would workshop ideas of the scenes and trust each other in the performances,” she said.

Shimmy Isaacs plays the role of Alice in Netflix drama “Unseen”. Picture: Netflix

Isaacs, who is an AFDA graduate, said her skills were obtained and honed through her studying dramatic performance, and knew that this particular role required her to play the character vocally differently.

“The character was positioned to give the series comic relief, but when I asked the director if I could vocally change Alice, it evoked a deeper and different emotion which the director loved. Alice was fed a lie and I always wished she knew how much the world was her oyster,” she said.

Both Daniels and Isaacs were elated that the world would be able to stream the series. Isaacs shared that she once went to attempt pursuing her talent in the US and felt that the country did not need her, so she packed her bags and came back home. She is now in awe that the world would gather to watch her, without her going to them.

Travis Taute ,the director and adapter of the series, said that the series moves across various suburbs, including Camps Bay, Fresnaye, Lavender Hill, Athlone, Milnerton and many other locations in and around the city centre.

“The principal photography lasted just over three months. It’s always a pleasure for us to be able to show off the various parts of this incredibly diverse city, which has so much to offer in terms of filming locations,” he said.

“Unseen” streams on Netflix from March 29 with a star-studded cast including Gail Mabalane, Vuyo Dabula, Hein de Vries and Rapulana Seiphemo.