People tend to underestimate voice acting. In fact, many people wouldn’t even consider it acting. Actress Sibongile Mlambo stars in the six-episode dramatic audio series Hindsight: The Day Before, but she is a familiar face to audiences, having previously starred in Netflix’s Lost in Space, the Starz historical adventure television series Black Sails and in films like Honey 3 and The Last Face. And yet, Mlambo, in conversation with Fangirlish, admits she found a challenge very specific to this medium while filming Hindsight: The Day Before.
“It’s so nuanced!” Mlambo told us. “You only have your voice to communicate and tell the story. I found myself overthinking sometimes and just had to let go and trust the process.” Which, is, of course, easier said than done. “I learned how precise you have to be with your vocal delivery to create an engaging experience for your audience, it was a great opportunity to grow as an artist.”
The series, which also stars Santiago Cabrera, Ian Anthony Dale, M.C. Gainey, Nolan Gerald Funk, Merrin Dungey, Aaron Stanford, and John Goodman is a supernatural thriller, and follows Professor John Gabriel Strasser, who, after an impulse purchase at a Harlem curio shop, is sent on a life-changing journey that drives him toward a profound and dangerous realization of who and what he is, and the mission he will have to take on in order to survive. Kely Lyons directs the series.
Mlambo approached it as an opportunity for growth, and as such, did her research. “For this project, my process began with researching the Houdinis, the time period, and what people sounded like at that time.” She plays Bess Houdini in the audio series. “Bess’ relationship with her husband, and the role she plays in helping to solve their cases stood out to me – she’s very smart and truly loves Harry.”
The good thing is that “since it is an audio drama, we didn’t have to worry about hair, make-up or costumes. We weren’t restricted to a recording booth either and actually got to be on a stage with the other actors and use props, which helped to imagine the world and play.”
Mlambo, who has gotten the chance to play in the sci-fi and fantasy sandbox before, admitted that she really loved the genre, because “you can explore complex themes and address social issues directly.” The actress even added some examples, telling us that: “It makes me think of Star Trek and Star Wars, and the role they’ve played in discussions around identity, representation, and social justice. In these genres, you have freedom to imagine new possibilities and challenge existing norms.”
And when it comes to playing characters who aren’t just one thing, who are showing the world that people don’t have to fit in a box, but that they can represent the scope of human emotion, Mlmabo also had a lot to say. “I think it’s important because they reflect the reality of the human experience. No one is just one thing or always feeling a single emotion, people are multifaceted. You get to experience that with Bess. She exists in a world where as a wife, there are limited expectations thrust upon her, and we see her navigate those expectations as well as be the mastermind that her husband knows her to be.”
Hindsight: The Day Before is available on all podcast apps.
