A little lie helped Clint Brink land his first acting gig

Johanessburg – Clint Brink stole the hearts of many South Africans when he first appeared on our TV screens as Shaun Jacobs on Backstage nearly two decades ago.

The actor, who has been cast to play a role in the new season of MTV Shuga: Down South, spoke to The Juice about how he landed that Backstage gig. 

Having just completed his tertiary education at the time, Clint says his father was the one who pushed him to find a job in the beginning. 

“I think I was at home for about a month and a half and my dad was like, ‘listen, it’s been a month and half now and you haven’t gotten work yet.’ And I’m like, ja but I don’t know how this thing’s suppose to work. Well he’s like, ‘if you don’t have work by next week you’re going to do insurance with me, and I bet you you’re not going to like working for me’.” 

This was enough to get the young actor going. Explaining that he found an open audition while reading a newspaper, Clint says he jumped on the opportunity. 

“I took the train for two hours into Cape Town, went to the audition room and I waited like everyone else. And I think there was about five or six spots before I had to go in for the audition and the lady at the front desk said if you don’t have an agent we’re not going to see you.” 

But this did not stop him from finding a way into that audition room. “So while I was talking to the guy in the cue, while he was looking away I just wrote this agents number and this agents name and I went and did the audition.” 

Things went extremely well for the star, with the director stopping him mid-way through his audition to ask for his agents name… so he made one up. Clint explains, “I was like, ‘umm… Janet.’ He goes, ‘Janet Du Plessis is your agent?’ and he pulls out his cell phone right there in front of everyone and he calls her.” 

Although he got into a little trouble for his lie, in the end the same agent got Clint the audition for Backstage where he landed the role as Shaun. “Out of 648 people I got chosen to do it. So that’s how it started 18 years ago.”