Sophie Okonedo will play Winnie Madikizela-Mandela

OSCAR-nominated British actress Sophie Okonedo has bagged the starring role of struggle stalwart Winnie Madikizela-Mandela in a new film.

Okonedo, who said in a recent interview that Madikizela-Mandela was a “real strong woman; she’s got balls”, was cast as the lead in the real-life drama produced by the BBC.

The BBC said Okonedo, who starred in the acclaimed movie Hotel Rwanda with the Oscar-winning Don Cheadle, was bringing “one of the most extraordinary, if controversial, figures in recent history to the screen for the first time”.

The 90-minute film, written and directed by Michael Samuels, and produced by Jolyon Symonds, was shot on location in Soweto.

It focuses on the development of the relationship between Madikizela-Mandela and her former husband, Nelson Mandela, from their brief courtship in the 1950s until his release from prison in 1990.

In an interview with London’s The Guardian newspaper, Okonedo, who also starred in The Secret Life of Bees, admitted to “never having met Winnie” but said she had “read more about her in South African history books”.

“I did read a lot about South African history. It was great to play a real strong woman.

“She’s got balls. I had no idea what an incredibly tough life she’d had,” Okonedo said.

“It’s extraordinary that she survived at all. I don’t know how she got through a day in that kind of life.

“I couldn’t have borne it. I would have gone crackers. They hounded her.”

The film, which will be screened in South Africa on DStv later this year, is “a love story, a triumph and a tragedy”.

It charts Madikizela-Mandela’s progress from an “innocent country girl to politicised fighter against apartheid, and from adoring wife to revolutionary firebrand”.

David Harewood, from Blood Diamond, stars as Mandela, and David Morrissey, from State Of Play, portrays notorious police interrogator Theunis Swanepoel.

South African actor Garth Breytenbach plays a policeman sent to arrest Madikizela-Mandela.

“I only had one scene with Sophie, but from the little I saw she was such an intense actress, who is beautiful and powerful on set,” said Breytenbach .

Richard Klein, of BBC4, said: “Winnie Mandela is one of the most controversial figures to emerge in South African politics over the past 50 years, yet for many people in Britain she remains a shadowy figure.

“The time is ripe for a thoughtful exploration of this larger-than-life character and, with its strong track record in producing high-quality biopics, BBC4 is the perfect home for the film.”