Publications
Partners
He still can't quite get his head around how his life fell apart.
Over the past few years Marlon Roelfze has lost everything: his house, his car, his dignity and his will to live.
At one point his financial situation was so dire, the Egoli star had to resort to sleeping on the floor of a relative's house. During this time, he also turned from one friend to another for a bed, a plate of food and even a bar of soap.
The worst part was when he and his daughter could no longer live under one roof because he could no longer care for her.
"I became self-destructive. I wanted to drink myself to death. I didn't want to live anymore."
It was a big relief for Marlon (50) in March when for the first time in seven years he received his first decent salary. He was being paid not for his efforts as an actor, which was how South Africans came to know him, but rather for his work as a car salesman in Pretoria.
Marlon's last role was in Swartwater (Blackwater), but then the cameras stopped rolling due to the pandemic and the SABC2 drama series was cancelled. This after he had struggled for years to keep things afloat.
After his glory days as an actor in Egoli, Getroud Met Rugby (Married to Rugby) and Villa Rosa, he had to do odd jobs and take whatever work he could get. But he always hit his hardships and worries behind a smile.
"It's not that I think too much of myself, but people put you on a pedestal, and if you're doing badly then they just feel bad. I like people to be happy around me. So I put up a front for years."
But after the pandemic derailed his career, it became increasingly difficult to stay positive.
His friends and family could see the growing desperation in his eyes.
"My agent said at the time, 'Marlon, you look like you are desperate. There's nothing wrong with your acting, but you look too desperate and it counts against you.' "
After years of hardship, a month ago he went for the most important "audition" of his life – for a job on the sales floor of a car dealership.
"I started training the next day. They threw me in at the deep end. I'm swimming now, hey!"
He isn't the only South African actor who has struggled to make ends meet. The entertainment industry is still reeling post-pandemic with quite a few productions canned.
Marlon admits that things had been tough long before Covid and says he's been scraping by since 2012. A little movie role here, fitness work at a spa there, giving acting lessons. He even worked as a pest controller. It was hectic, but he kept smiling.
In 2016, he was disappointed when Getroud Met Rugby became a TV series and he wasn't offered a role.
READ MORE | It’s been a tough year for beloved actor David Rees – but he’s going to bounce back
As other auditions failed to land him job offers, he became depressed. On top of this, there was tension between him and his child's mother.
"I started drinking too much. She knew what was going on, but she didn't know how to help me. Yes, we went to church, but no one could know what I was going through."
When he landed a role in Swartwater in 2018, he was on cloud nine. "It felt like my life was starting again!"
But the virus snatched away his second chance. The strict Covid measures made production just too difficult and expensive. The series was halted.
This time it was harder to stay positive.
"Some of the aunts said to me, 'Marlon, you don't look nice today!' My energy was there, but one's eyes can't lie. I got R400 a month at a gym where I worked, after taxes and things."
Things at home were getting worse.
"There was no water, there was no electricity, no more TV. Later, there was even no food in the house.
"I didn't want to live anymore, but decided I had to for my daughter."
They ended up sleeping on a relative's floor.
"I really wouldn't have made it if it wasn't for them," Marlon says.
Feeling embarrassed to be such a burden, he then drifted from one friend to another, asking them to put him up.
"I made up stories like 'I'm back on this or that'. I would supposedly go for auditions and then many of them would lend me their cars. I lived in my own fantasy world."
READ MORE | Melanie du Bois is back, busy and better than ever, thanks to a self-care break
The day he regained hope is imprinted in his memory: 13 March.
A friend who works across the street from CMH Ford Gezina in Pretoria heard that they were looking for a salesman.
Even though Marlon had no sales experience, he decided to go for the interview and to his relief he ended up getting the job.
"I said, no, man, you're lying! And the tears began to run. I couldn't control my emotions. I couldn't speak."
That first salary in seven years saved his life, he stresses. He can now start looking for an apartment. Two months ago, he didn't have money for an Uber; now he's driving a work bakkie.
He believes his acting experience is to his benefit in his new line of work. His colleagues are already labelling him a "breath of fresh air", he says.
Some prospective customers who walk into the car dealership and recognise him – they're just not always sure why he looks familiar.
"Then I just joke, 'Aunty, I was at school with your kid'. And then I ask when she's going to buy a car from me.
"But usually they're too sharp and hit back with, 'Only when you tell me where I really know you from'. "
Although he's happy in his new job, he hasn't ruled out a return to acting, which is why he's currently doing a drama and film course.
His message to other actors is "to always have a Plan B".
"It's not a nice feeling if you can't take care of yourself."
Marlon is proud to be able to stand on his own feet again.
"I wouldn't want to go through that pain again, but the experiences made me a much stronger person," he says.
