Pretoria born 🇿🇦 Marié Botha, now living in New York, dove into research when she got the role of a villain in The Batman television spinoff, The Penguin. 🐧 Instead of trawling scholarly journals, she bought the comic books where her character, Magpie, was featured. The character was seen in the fourth episode of The Penguin in Arkham Asylum flashbacks.
While already a fan of the Batman films, the comics were new to her. She considers herself a fan of it now. “I own almost every single comic book that Magpie makes an appearance in – I don’t know how many people can say that!” she said.
Botha said she compiled a comprehensive character study to refer to and decided to toss in bits of her favourite fantasy and comic book villains: Harry Potter’s Bellatrix Lestrange and Batman villains: the Riddler, the Joker. The final bit of her preparation? “… after putting together a tapestry of all of the above, I tapped into the darker and more complex parts of myself and brought a lot of personal emotion and energy to how I portrayed her.”
We learn more from Botha about her experience on The Penguin.
Who is your favourite villain?
Would I be betraying Magpie if I said the Joker? Ha! 😂
How did you land the role of Magpie?
I auditioned with a self-tape while I was visiting my parents in Hermanus. I then did the callback a week later over [video conferencing service] Zoom. It was an absolute whirlwind!
I was so anxious and thrilled the entire time – the opportunity to play a Batman villain doesn’t come around every day!
When I got the part, I couldn’t stop jumping up and down and dancing around the house while I packed my things to fly back to New York to shoot.💃
What do you love about Magpie?
I think underneath it all she is a small, wounded little girl. I loved figuring out what that meant to me.
We all have that version of our younger selves that went through something difficult that changed us forever.
I empathise deeply with her, especially her desperate desire to make friends! I think she has a lot of love to give, the way that she does it is just a little unhinged. She’s a bit socially awkward.
Do you think Arkham made Magpie what she is now? What was the backstory you gave her?
I think Arkham definitely sealed the deal.
From what I’ve gleaned from the comics, she has a lot of traumas in her background. She is quite misunderstood. I think she never quite fit in and couldn’t ever really find connection and so that drove her to become a version of herself she probably thinks is more easily digestible.
Arkham exacerbated that and so she almost teeters too far in the other direction now, which makes things worse when she tries to befriend Sofia (or anyone for that matter).
What was it like working with Cristin Milioti (plays Sofia Falcone) and episode director, Helen Shaver?
Incredible. I had been fans of both of their work for a while. ♀ When I learned I was going to get to work with Helen, I was over the moon. She is just so fantastic at making women shine. She herself was an actress for many years and knows instinctively how to create opportunities for artists to really feel safe to do deep, spontaneous work.
Cristin, as we all have seen, is working magic with this role. To be able to be on a small part of her journey of embodying Sofia was extraordinary. Watching her work is a masterclass - the things I learned from her I will carry with me throughout my career.
What’s next for Marié Botha?
Right now, just catching my breath. I will be featured in an Independent Feature next year alongside Mickey Sumner and Josh Hamilton, which is very exciting.
I am also in the process of writing/creating my very own television series. In the meantime, the hustle continues, and back to auditioning! I hope this beautiful opportunity will open some new doors going forward. Fingers crossed!
Keep up on Facebook, X, Instagram, and TikTok using #ThePenguin and #MNet101. The Penguin airs Express from the US on Mondays at 03:00, and in prime time at 21:00, on M-Net channel 101. If you’ve missed any episodes, catch up on DStv Stream here.
Featured imaged: HBO