Daniel Dercksen shares a few thoughts with Quentin Krog, now starring in Regard van den Bergh's Tornado and the Kalahari Horse Whisperer.

With the release of Tornado and the Kalahari Horse Whisperer Quentin Krog makes his remarkable feature film debut.

We've seen Krog on the small screen in the sci-fi series Charlie Jade, the Afrikaans series Orion, the international docu-drama 3 Days To Jonestown, and he currently appears in the soccer drama Shooting Stars. 

On stage, the KKNK in 2005 saw him nominated for 'Best Professional Theatre Debut' a.k.a the Slurpie Award for his performance as 'Tebaldo' in Romeo & Julia, and a year later, at the 2006 KKNK Kanna Awards Ceremony, he was awarded the 'Best Performer in Theatre Accolade' with co-star Neels van Jaarsveld for his performance in Boks.

With his performance in Tornado and the Kalahari Horse Whisperer, he will most definitely garner new fans.

Based on a true story and directed by Regard van den Bergh, Tornado and the Kalahari Horse Whisperer features Krog in the role of a troubled young man whose faith in live is restored through his remarkable friendship with a tormented horse.

When his character Pierre travels to Noenieput, in the Groen Kalahari, to find Barrie Burger, a horse whisperer, they embark on a journey of healing and self discovery, one that will change their lives forever.

Pierre is taught how to hear Tornado's whisper, understand his pain, and release him from it.

Talking to Krog, it is understandable why he beat several other actors to this sought after role, one the biggest kind of projects he has worked on, and hopes will "open some doors".
Krog only heard of the auditions very late in the casting process and immediately took action.

Through his own production company, Firestorm Productions, he filmed his own audition tape, shooting scenes out of the script.

"I liked that it was a true story, that it was a real person, and a person with issues that everyone could relate to," says Krog of his attraction to play the role.

"It's not a shallow, Hollywood film, but has some substance to it. There's a great message to it and I liked that there was a darkness to the character and that he also goes through a journey which we can all relate to."

It was not that difficult for Krog to relate to the character of a loner.

"It was quite easy because a lot of people can experience the same kind of things. A lot of people go through the same issues, not necessarily the same problems that Pierre experiences. I related easily to him because he is also a young guy who went through hard times. I've gone through hard times as well so it was easy to relate to it."

What contributed to his understanding of the role, was "being in the Kalahari".

"It was so easy to get absorbed into that atmosphere, that vibe."

When it comes to his horsemanship, Krog is quite confident with horses, having done a commercial where he had to ride a horse, and he has also done some stunt training on horses.   

Krog cannot praise his co-star Kashmir enough. 

"I enjoyed working with this specific horse," says Krog, referring to the unique bond that was formed between him and Kashmir during the making of the film.

"He is a stallion from a stud farm, a very lively, energetic horse that you don't just play around with," he says.

"I managed to get close enough to it, for it to become relaxed and calm and to actually get very close and intimate with the horse and it translated into some great scenes. What was special for me was that it was a real live stallion that you wouldn't normally go near or try and work with and that I could get so close and that it accepted, that it let me into its intimate space and allowed me near it. It was a great experience."

For Krog, what made the bond between him and Kashmir unique, was that he had an opportunity to forge a special friendship. 

"Once you get close to a horse and get to know a horse, you can clearly see there's a personality there, and the beautiful thing is that you learn to communicate with the animal in another way that you don't necessarily communicate with people," he says.  "It's an amazing dynamic that gets formed."

"There's a lot more barriers that need to be broken down before you can create an intimate bond with someone, whereas with a horse, it's all just being there, being physical, your physical presence and the horse's physical presence and finding and learning how to handle the horse physically and where and where its boundaries lie and how close do you get to it and how far you can push the horse's boundaries."

Krog's remarkable performance is particularly evident in scenes where his character is fearful of how the horse might react.   

"A lot of it came from just living that experience in that moment when we were shooting it," says Krog.

"Because it is a stallion and it's unpredictable; it's not a calm, peaceful horse, you never know what it's going to do. It was easy for me to really just live that moment right there and then, no knowing what the horse is going to really do to next and how it is going to react in certain situations. It was easy to portray that fear."

For Krog, it was unfortunate that, due to safety precautions, he was not permitted to ride the horse in full gallop.

"I really wanted to but they did not allow me to do that. The real Pierre van Rooyen, the actual guy, he got to do all the wide shots where the horse is galloping. I was very jealous of him there but I think it was nice that he got to also be in the film about his life."

What made Krog's performance even more difficult, was that his character faces tremendous internal conflict and he had to spend a lot of time in isolation.

"I could relate to the character quite a lot. By nature I am quite an introverted person and I tend to have a lot of internal dialogue and try and sort it out in my head if I have problems in life or things don't go my way or if I am struggling," says Krog.

"I had to draw a lot of myself into the character, which I find very uncomfortable sometimes because I find it a lot easier to just escape into a completely different character, as opposed to being vulnerable and showing yourself."

What was challenging for Krog, was that he had to go to "a personal vulnerable place."

"I am not always used to doing that. I'm used to creating a completely different physical, emotional character where everything is different to my own personal life, and who I am as a person. It was challenging to bring out parts of me that I don't necessarily want people to see or know."

It was Krog's boyhood dream in High School to actually be a rock star and lead singer in a band.

"The acting thing kind of came in a strange way.  I was actually written into Stellenbosch to study a B Com in marketing. The year that I was supposed to start studying I got there a week before the time with my dad and step mom and we contacted the Dean of the Faculty just to see if everything was in order. When he looked at matric results he noted that my math's mark was two percent short of the cut, so it was a two percent shortage of my math's final matric mark that actually ended up with me going from studying a B Com in marketing to Drama. I'll never forget it. We were driving around trying to find my flat and my dad's very sort of a stern man, he's very strict. I had to find something else to study and I was paging through the booklet and  it was alphabetical. When I got to D for Drama, and I thought it was something I could do and enjoy."

Does he regret this decision? 

"No, definitely not. I think it was meant to be. I believe in a divine plan for my life and what God has what I do and where I do it."

What Krog enjoys about being an actor is that he gets an opportunity to express himself in real life.

"Because I am an introvert I don't really express myself fully. I don't express emotion that easily and I don't lose my cool that easily and I'm a very patient person. When I get to act, I get to be someone completely different and I get to sort of vent frustrations and I get to be someone else, which is make believe and I enjoy that. I enjoy escaping into another character. I enjoy making people laugh. On stage it's an extreme thrill and an extreme high to feel that you have an audience in your hand; that they are hanging on your every word. It's an amazing feeling, it's a power trip sometimes. I enjoy the craft and the process."

When he is not on stage or filming, you will see him strutting his golf muscle on Facebook.

"I enjoy golf," he admits, although he does not play that often.

"I enjoy being outdoors but I don't get to do that much. I enjoy going hiking into the mountains. I enjoy beautiful places and getting out of the city of I can. I also enjoy good food and wine."

Krog is also a video producer. His company Firestorm Productions does lots of music videos, documentaries and corporate work.

He was thrilled to be stranded in the middle of the Kalahari during the filming of Tornado and the Kalahari Horse Whisperer.

"It was a treat. It was absolutely beautiful. One day, during a day off, I walked as far as the eye could see and got to these big sand dunes and just sat there the whole day. I just took it all in. I can do that. I can just sit somewhere where it is beautiful outside and do nothing an entire day."

Krog hopes that local audiences will "see the message" in the film and "relate to it I terms of seeing that it is okay to be broken, and that it is okay to have problems."

"You are not the only person out there; if you can be open and see that there is an answer, there is a message, there is a way you can handle whatever your problem is when you are broken."

READ MORE ABOUT TORNADO AND THE KALAHARI HORSE WHISPERER

READ MORE: THE CAST AND CREW TALK ABOUT MAKING TORNADO

READ INTERVIEW WITH DANNY KEOGH AND REAL-LIFE HORSE WHISPERER BARRIE BURGER

READ AN INTERVIEW WITH REGARDT VAN DEN BERGH

QUENTIN KROG TALKS ABOUT 'BOKS'

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