This week on The Indaba Show, presenter Steven Taylor speaks with actor Sean Cameron Michael about some of his most memorable and amusing on-set experiences.
Michael, who was born in Goodwood Cape Town, became interested in acting at the age of 12 after performing in various theatrical productions.
Michael has appeared in various international television shows and feature films over the past three decades.
Michael recounts a particular event from his time in the profession while on the set of the television series MacGyver.
Michael, who portrayed one of MacGyver’s greatest antagonists, Conor Brennan, stated that there is a very heartbreaking sequence in which he speaks to his daughter.
“When we actually shot the scene, she was unable to be included. Therefore, they placed a tennis ball on the side of the camera as the daughter’s eyeline. When I was filming the scene, I was totally focused on this tennis ball.”
“At that very moment, a single tear rolled down my cheek, and I thought, “That’s really great.” Clearly, I’m quite emotionally impacted by this tennis ball. I’m terrible at interacting with people, but I’m excellent with tennis balls and boxes.”
Michael reported that once the director called “cut,” the entire crew approached him with embraces and tears, expressing how moved they were by his tennis ball performance.
“For me as a performer. That was a key moment for me, when I realized I could possibly pursue an acting career.”
Michael, who also plays in a new local Netflix series titled Ludik, claims that the show would portray South Africans in a new light.
“In this program, characters do things that make you say, “Wow, he did that?” In fact, he stated so. The value is rof. We say it’s maximum chaos,” he said.