He has just stormed the Australian movie industry with a stellar performance on the set of a single 2020 production.
But Calvin Mwita, 30, is no stranger to drama and theatre. Only a few years ago, Mwita was just another student at a secondary school in rural Kenya. At the time, you wouldn’t notice him running up and down alongside other students at the sound of bells in the hilly terrains of Orero Boys High School in Homa Bay County.
One thing, however, stuck out about Mwita: he was witty and talented. He had a way with words. In smooth, flawless Swahili, there were always a pack of students gathered around him in laughter.
Born and raised in Tarime on the Kenya-Tanzania border, Mwita attended Kibumaye Primary School in Tarime, and Momokoro Academy in Isebania (Kenya) before joining Orero Boys. He later crossed the border to Tanzania for his undergraduate degree at Mzumbe University, where he studied finance and accounting.
His life would, however, take a turn in 2018 when he won a scholarship to pursue a Master’s Degree at Torrens University, Australia.
According to Mwita, his first stint on stage happened at the age of 10 where he was involved in community events such as weddings and parties. At secondary school, he was heavily involved in debating, talent show events, student activism and governance issues.
He reckons that the many times he took part in public speaking and drama at school greatly invigorated his desire for acting.
“I remember being a talkative boy as a little child. I grew up in the era of hip-hop, a music genre in which I found motivation, confidence and inspiration. Hip hop gave me confidence standing before people at an early age,” he narrated.
His efforts to land a major acting role eventually paid off, thanks to the rare scholarship opportunity to Australia, which he says pushed him to practice harder and audition at every available chance.
Pursuing an acting career in Australia is a particularly challenging venture, he says, given the stiff competition in the film industry in Australia.
Despite the challenges, Mwita remained upbeat, ready to achieve his dreams of becoming an actor.
“I kept applying for any open auditions that came up until my dream came true,” he says.
“My first role was in Stateless (2020); a Netflix six-part television series where I played the role of a detainee in an Australian immigration detention centre,” he explains, adding that, the role came along after many unsuccessful acting auditions.
The show portrays various themes about immigrants who struggle to find refuge abroad. These are people running away from war to save their lives and end up locked in a place for many years without knowing their destination.
Being cast in Stateless made him see things beyond mere perspectives of a screen actor, he notes.
Instead, he started viewing international immigration problems from the perspective of a human being attempting to find peace and security in their lives, and not any associated socio-economic benefit motivations long associated with immigrant crises.
“I was overly elated when I got that call saying I had won the audition. God is always the greatest! Sharing the stage with some great actors in the world made me learn and become more creative in my career. I felt the doors were opening. I had been dreaming of acting as a career for many years,” said Mwita.
While he says his confidence in the role further buoyed when he realised that he would be speaking Swahili in the role, he felt nervous and worried since he had never had such a big role before.
“To be honest talking in my own language at some point made my job easier. I had only one chance and I was going to use it perfectly,” he said.
