Local star shines in new global Pepsi campaign

He’s not your stereotypical up and coming showbusiness star.

Instead, Dean Goldblum is the kind of guy who has an insatiable curiosity about the world around him, and the people in it.

The kind of person everyone wants at a dinner party, because he’s just that chilled. In his instance, nice guys cross the finishing line first.

And he’s well on his way with several notable roles under his belt and now, a spot in a Pepsi Zero Sugar ad set for global release.

The ad is a fast moving musical collage that focuses on expressions, consuming and interacting with the soft drink.

And while nobody in the cast had a speaking part, just being in a major league soft drink add instantly conjures peers like Michael Jackson, Madonna and Britney Spears.

It’s a small part but a big deal.

“It was incredible,” Goldblum said.

“We shot the Pepsi ad for six days, and every moment was special.”

Filmed in Cape Town with an international crew and managed by Ridley Scott’s production house, the campaign is big-budget stuff.

Goldblum described the shoot as a masterclass.

“Working with the director, the camera persons, and then the company handling local production, everyone was at the top of their game,” he said. “You learn so much just by being around people like that.”

All South African cast

The entire Pepsi ad cast was South African, and most of the crew too.

“It’s a big deal,” he said. “A project like that showcases our talent on a global stage and brings huge investment into the country via the production. And millions of people are going to see it.”

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But starring in a Pepsi ad is not the beginning and end of his career, nor his first international pitstop.

Goldblum has stacked up roles with credits in Darby and the Dead, The Kingdom, Tali’s Joburg Diary, Die Onderonsie, and South Africa’s first Amazon Prime Original, The Shakedown.

Later this year, he stars in Pretty How Town, directed by Alan Shelley, and he’s also been cast in Muzzle: City of Wolves opposite Aaron Eckhart.

But the CV isn’t what defines him. There’s no pushiness. No hustle-for-the-sake-of-hustle vibe at all.

Instead, Goldblum comes across as a gentle, kind human. This is also how he approaches his work.

“I started drama classes when I was about six,” he said. “Helen Holden used to put me in shows. It was small stuff, but I loved it. Then music got me deeper into performance, and it all grew from there.”

First, he was a ‘Little Star’

His first screen role came at 13, on SABC’s Little Stars.

By high school, he’d already appeared on South Africa’s Got Talent.

“I was still figuring out if I wanted to study law or act,” he said. “I was passionate about human rights. Still am.”

The turning point came in a school production of Big Fish.

“That experience changed everything,” he said. “I realised I could probably have more impact as a performer than I would as an attorney. That connection between people, that energy. It felt more immediate, more alive,” he said.

Goldblum studied drama at UCT but worked professionally during his holidays, jumping between television soaps and student life.

“Generations, Rhythm City and the like. I’d come back to Joburg during the breaks and shoot, then return to class,” he said. “It was just luck, really. Good timing.”

He’s been fortunate enough that his work has started finding him.

‘A lot of international work is being shot here’

Despite a slowdown in local commissioning, Goldblum said the industry is still very much alive.

“A lot of the international work is being shot here,” he said. “The film and television world has become so globalised. I’ve done American work without ever leaving South Africa.”

The challenge, he said, lies in local productions, funded at home.

“Funding is hard. The DTI (Department of Trade and Industry) rebates to producers and the way rules change makes things unpredictable. But people are still doing it, still finding a way to create.”

Goldblum has found his way. His slate’s busy, and the casting couch has never intimidated him. Instead, it’s like a fresh start every time. 

“I’ve always felt calm in castings,” he said. “I try to approach them like I would a conversation. No performance, no pretence. Just connect.”

And then, when he gets a role, he goes for it completely and throws everything he has at it.

“Every encounter is a chance to uplift someone, or to learn,” he said. “Every second we’ve got here matters.”

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