Curro Durbanville teen, Luca Human, breaks through in Showmax Original Trompoppie
27 February 2024Luca Haman, Curro Durbanville learner and Curro Create prodigy, just got her breakthrough role in a local Showmax Original Trompoppie, alongside local celebrities such as Frank Opperman and Stian Bam.
Luca, the daughter of beloved Afrikaans actress, Margrit-Meyer Rodenbeck, aka Dowwe Dolla, plays Elke, the younger adopted sister of the school’s lead trompoppie (cheerleaders. When cheerleaders start going missing after a hair-raising hazing ritual, all fingers point at Elke.
About Trompoppie and Luca’s role
The twisty Showmax Original Trompoppie – having been hailed as “an edge-of-your-seat whodunit” by Debashine Thangebelo, is now available to binge. As Huisgenoot put it, “In the past year, Showmax viewers have been riveted with series such as Donkerbos and Spinners. And their new murder mystery series is certainly up there with some of the best from the streaming service’s stable.”
As Elke, 14-year-old Luca Human has been a revelation. Luca is the daughter of beloved Afrikaans actress Margit Meyer-Rödenbeck, aka Dowwe Dolla, and Trompoppie’s SAFTA- and Silwerskerm-winning writer and director Etienne Fourie is already hailing her as, “An absolute superstar. Her future is blindingly bright.”
Luca shared the following with Andrew Germishuys from The South African
Why did you want to be involved in Showmax Original Trompoppie?
I absolutely loved Etienne’s script. Out of all the Afrikaans TV series, I’ve never seen anything like this. It was just so cool to me. The storyline is so creative and it’s captivating; it keeps you on your toes.
Tell us about your character, Elke?
Elke is the younger sister of Zanne Peterson, who is the lead trompoppie. She was also adopted, like Zanne. Her parents do not understand her. Her mother is obsessed with Zanne and pays much more attention to Zanne, so she feels excluded and feels as if her mother no longer cares about her. So she resonates much more with her father.
What did you relate to in the story?
The peer pressure that occurs between the trompoppies is something that I can identify with. Luna is put under an awful lot of pressure by the trompoppies because she is new and someone from a different background and not rich like them. I am also in a private school so this is something I see a lot, which is very sad.
I could also relate to how Elke is not sure of herself at all. She is so insecure and she is very good at hiding it. I see that a lot too: children who are good at putting a smile on their faces but they are actually really struggling. I also have that problem sometimes, so that’s something I can personally identify with.
How did you get into character?
It was definitely difficult to get my character exactly right. She is a very difficult character to pinpoint. Although I resonate with her a lot, she is also a very dark character, so it is very difficult to know exactly what is going on in her head. So character analysis in that aspect was challenging for me.
Although I’m generally a pretty optimistic person, I have a pessimistic side that comes out sometimes. It wasn’t hard to find because it comes out when I do math homework. Elke is a math genius, whereas I have no idea how to do trig. So I’d just be doing math homework, and I’d get mad. Boom: Elke. I found her by just embracing the darkness within myself.
What do you want audiences to take away from the series?
I think the viewers can take two things away. Number one, people aren’t always who they say they are. And secondly, Jill, my mom, didn’t pay much attention to who I was, so moms and dads, please watch what your children are doing. They love you very much but sometimes they just can’t show it and they feel very alone.