Q. How did you find out about Invictus and get cast opposite Matt Damon as Francois Pienaar's wife Nerine?

I come from such a conservative background that I didn’t even think I'd become an actor, never mind that I would get a part in a movie like this. I went for the audition and put it behind me, because when you go for auditions, the best thing to do is forget about it. But you have to remember that if you can dream it, you can get it. It's exhilarating to know I got here with hard work and dedication.

Q. What was your first day on set like?

I had extreme tummy ache, I didn’t get any sleep the night before at all. Not because I was nervous, I just knew that this was it and that I had to make an impression. I kept telling myself, "Just remember your lines. Just remember your lines" and I didn’t even have that many lines. Normally I don’t stress about lines. I've worked on soaps and that’s like a wors-masjien where you have to get all the lines in at once. This was different, it was a few lines but with so much subtext that you have to get the emotions of the character right. When I arrived on set, I had never met anyone. I met Matt that first day. He came over to me and said, "Hi, I'm Matt. I'm playing your husband." And I just went, "Argh, I can't believe I have to do this right now, I'm not ready! Can we please have some coffee and chat?" Clint also came over and [puts on Dirty Harry impression] "Hi, I'm Clint and you're just going to sit right there." I was devastated! Everyone was so welcoming and warm, there was nothing to worry about.

Q. What is Clint Eastwood like as a director?

He's very free. I've never worked with a director like this before. He uses realism to the max and likes to use real people, not necessarily actors. He basically puts the camera in place and tells you "Go". He doesn't even say "action" or go off set. Usually after they've set up a scene, the director will disappear behind a monitor. He was right there all the time, watching. It's almost like a rehearsal. He only does one or two takes and keeps it very natural.

Q. What was your offscreen relationship with Matt Damon like?

Look, I was quite shy. People kept telling me to ride the wave and keep in contact with everyone over e-mail, but I'm just couldn't. I'm not that type of person. So we chatted when we had time on set and he had a few questions about the language and I helped with certain words when his dialogue coach wasn't within reach. We'd chat about the culture and he had a lot of questions about rugby. I didn’t want to invade anyone's space so when I was done for the day I would get out of the way. But I wanted to absorb as much as I could so sometimes I'd stay on set, hide out in a corner somewhere, to watch everyone work.

Q. It must've been nerve-wrangling to shoot your romantic scene with him.

That scene actually happened on the second day of shooting, so you can imagine [giggles]. The first day I already had a tsunami in my stomach, and the next day I had to kiss Matt Damon. Since Clint Eastwood doesn’t give much direction, I wasn’t sure when the scene was starting so I just decided to gooi. That's what drama school teaches you, to just improvise if you've forgotten your lines. So I just went along with it and it worked. I didn't know what I was doing, but I just did it.

Q. Do you remember where you were during the 1995 Rugby World Cup final match?

I remember very vividly. It was in Yzerfontein, a very small town, and it exploded into this massive mess of people hugging and kissing and running down the streets. It was like I was on a complete high. I was 13 years old at the time and I remember having to sit on the carpet during the game, because "groot mense sit op die bank, kinders op die grond" (grown ups sit on the chairs, children on the floor). I was too young to understand at the time what this game would mean to our country. To me it was just a huge rugby game.

Q. Now that you've starred in a huge Hollywood movie, what's next for you?

I think one should never assume that once you've been in a huge movie that you're always going to have work. In South Africa we have good projects, we have mediocre projects and what we like to call "low budget". But I just want to work. I'm happy with my work so far and I think that as an actor you need to keep working on your craft.

* Invictus is currently on circuit across South Africa.
Watch our video interview with Morgan Freeman and the stars arrive at the Invictus premiere in Cape Town.