“The series that ignited my love of reading,” Mila de Villiers on Showmax adaptation

Starring as Sunette in Showmax’s adaptation of the Reënboogrant books is a dream come true for young actress Mila de Villiers, who still remembers how she stole away to the school library during break times to gobble up more of the teenage drama. 

Inspired by Louise van Niekerk’s bestselling 90s novels, Reënboogrant is a Tshwane-set telenovela centred on the Brink family. Mila stars alongside Minke Marais (Mooiweer en Warm) as Grade 10 sisters Sunette and Shani Brink, with Paul Strydom (Spooksoeker) as their older brother Dolf. 

SAFTA and Silwerskerm winner Desiré Gardner (Magda Louw) is the head writer, with André Velts heading up the directing team and Sonvelt Media producing. Sonvelt Media won the 2024 SAFTA for Best Made For TV Movie for ‘n Tyd van Waterpere.

Roz Els chats to Mila to find out more.

When did the acting bug bite you?

I have always loved telling stories. I was one of the few kids who loved presenting orals at school. I participated in the Eisteddfod every year in primary school and it taught me from a young age how to learn masses of text and create characters. I really enjoyed it. My family are all storytellers too – it’s just in my blood. Acting has always been part of how I function; it makes me Mila.

Had you read the Reënboogrant books before you got involved in the project?

The books are so precious to me and they form a very special part of my childhood. I read my first Reënboogrant book in Grade 6 in my primary school library and my mother had to buy more right away. I wasn’t a big reader at that age because I couldn’t find books that I enjoyed, but Reënboogrant was the series that ignited my love of reading. I would sit in the library during second breaks and read the Reënboogrant books that my mother and I couldn’t get our hands on at Bargain Books. (laughs) So I couldn’t believe it when I got the opportunity to audition for the series. It felt unreal.

⁠Tell us about the audition process.

When I saw the email about the audition for Reënboogrant, I screamed out loud and immediately called my mother. For the first round of self-tapes, I chose to audition for Sunette – I didn’t even think twice about it. She was the character I loved the most when I read the books years ago. I just knew that I didn’t want to play anyone else but her. She’s very special to me.

Tell me more about Sunette. Who is she, how does she fit into that whole world and what were your first impressions of her?

Sunette is smart, dedicated and reliable, and wants everyone to have a place in the sun. She likes to play it safe, she thrives on routine, she’s logical, but she’s more than just an exemplary, determined, gentle, hard-working goodie-two-shoes who just throws herself into schoolwork. She’s also looking for excitement and love, and she wants to reinvent herself so that people really notice her. My first impression of her was that she experiences a lot of inner conflict and has yet to find and accept herself. It’s very interesting for me to carve out her path because she has so many contrasting qualities.

Are there any commonalities between you and Sunette?

I think the reason I liked Sunette when I started reading the books is because she’s so much like me. I was also a do-gooder at school; school things were also important to me, like academics and cultural extracurriculars. But I don’t take everything as seriously as Sunette. (laughs) I’m not someone who ticks boxes; I don’t like routine. Where she lives more in her own little world, I thrive around people. And I’m definitely not an athlete! I had to take athletics lessons to convince viewers that Sunette was at home on the track, but I was terrified I would embarrass myself jumping over hurdles on camera! 

Why do you think viewers relate to Sunette? 

She gives an honest look at what it’s like to be a teenager and to make mistakes. I feel like she represents the group of people who push themselves to be the best all the time. She always tries to put her best foot forward and stay within her own rules. She struggles to allow herself to just be, to make mistakes, and have a little fun. Her biggest fear is failure and I think a lot of people relate to this. 

⁠How would you describe the sisterhood between Sunette and Shani?

Shani and Sunette are opposites. They attach different values ​​to very different things. Where Shani is more of an extrovert and popular and dreams of going to Hollywood, Sunette is content with little attention on her. She focuses more on her grades and dreams of the Olympics. But it was such a nice challenge for me to find the common ground between Sunette and Shani because they are sisters, after all. Minke and I happened to do the same mannerism on camera one day and it was so small, but it immediately helped me find the similarities between the sisters. And as we kept shooting, that dynamic and similarities only grew. It’s funny because Minke and I are opposites in real life too, (laughs) so it feels like life imitating art.

How did you and Minke work together to portray the relationship between the two sisters? 

Minke and I are so privileged. We already had a friendship before filming the series and it was just easy to see her as Sunette’s sister. She was at Stellenbosch University the year before me and we performed together in a production and we have mutual friends. Before we moved to Pretoria, she and I just went for a lot of coffees and talked about our characters, and also just took the time to connect. Minke and I also live together now, so I feel like we operate as sisters, and that helps on set.

What’s on your acting bucket list? Your absolute dream role?

Sunette is a dream role for me. I never thought I would play my favourite character from my favourite children’s book series! (laughs) But I always say that I want to play in a meaningful movie. When I watched Vaselinetjie, I started dreaming of starring in something like that. And I would also love to act in a comedy. Comedy is probably one of the hardest genres to play because it’s so specific. But at the end of the day, I just want to be challenged.

Watch the trailer: