She's more than up to this task

Local actress Thuso Mbedu's latest project, HBO's gripping crime drama Task, paired with Mark Ruffalo, proves her global star power

- Rolland Simpi Motaung

South African-born actress Thuso Mbedu is a force. Having starred in The Underground Railroad (2021) and The Woman King (2022), she has landed yet another challenging role as Aleah Clinton in the crime drama Task, premiering on HBO and Showmax on 8 September.

From the creator of Mare of Easttown, Brad Ingelsby, Task dishes out seven gripping episodes, featuring high-octane action, simmering tension and nuanced performances.

Primarily filmed in Philadelphia, Task is about an FBI task force formed in the wake of a series of robberies executed by a pair of sanitation workers who are stealing drug money from a local motorcycle gang.

The task team is led by priest-turned-FBI-agent Tom Brandis (Mark Ruffalo) and includes state patrol officer Lizzie Stover (Alison Oliver), detective Anthony Grasso (Fabien Frankel) and Mbedu's character Aleah — a tight-lipped agent grappling with a haunted past.

After a day of reacquainting myself with the time difference between South Africa and the US, I finally got to chat with Mbedu via Zoom.

She tells me she has often felt frustrated after being told she doesn’t look old enough after auditions for various film and TV roles but that her meeting with series director Jeremiah Zagar in 2023 was different.

Because Aleah is in her late twenties, and Mbedu is older than her, she was initially ready to walk out the door.

“But Jeremiah was so kind and explained that he had been following my career since The Underground Railroad and that he was excited to work with me.

“So, we jumped right in and did the audition. Fortunately, I got the role from that. It was great to collaborate with him.”

Getting in character