Black Sunday Confessions – Jacques Adriaanse, star of ‘Match’

First dates can be awkward. In Match, they can also be downright terrifying.

Screening today at Black Sunday Film Festival’s Midsummer Scream ahead of its UK release in August, Danishka Esterhazy’s latest horror film takes the familiar world of online dating and twists it into something far more sinister. Starring BAFTA nominee Humberly González alongside Jacques Adriaanse, the Tubi Original promises plenty of surprises for audiences brave enough to swipe right. For this edition of Black Sunday Confessions, we caught up with Jacques, who plays Henry, to talk about the film, the life-changing moment that led him to acting, the horror movie that kept him awake for days, and why some fears are best left buried.

Jacques Adriaanse, actor

1. Tell us about your film and what brings it to the Black Sunday Film Festival.

Match is a Tubi Orginal, produced by Blue Ice Pictures and Blue Ice Pictures Africa, horror film about love, lovability and the online dating scene. Written by Jon and Al Kaplan.  Directed by Sundance Film Festival and Canadian Screen Awards winning director Danishka Esterhazy. It stars BAFTA nominated Humberly González (Waterfront, Ginny & Georgia, Star Wars Outlaws), Shaeane Jiminez (The Testaments, Last Xmas), Dianne Simpson (The Rats: A Witcher Tale, Legacy) , myself – Jacques Adriaanse (Hammarskjöld: Fight for Peace, Invasive: Getaway, Disaster Holiday, Koek) and Luke Völker (This is How the World Ends) as leads.

The film also stars Nikita Faber and Dean Goldblum.

After Paola is matched with a handsome online suitor, she arrives for a first date to discover a house full of dark and terrifying secrets. It’s best to go into this film completely blind I would say and let your reactions speak for themselves, also keep a bucket and/or safety blanket nearby.

Match was selected to screen at the Black Sunday Film Festival ahead of its UK release in August and the wonderful team at Signature Entertainment recognised the very fitting festival it would be to introduce it to the UK Horror Lovers!

2. What moment made you realise you wanted to create films, not just watch them?

I truly was drawn to performing from a very young age, singing, doing school plays and musicals and many times getting cast as the villian, complicated character, or the crazy one. I knew in my heart that I actually wanted to perform and perform globally when I do, so decided to study BCom(Law) – yes, an anticlimax indeed. “No happy new year” here ;). While studying, I joined the internationally acclaimed choir, University of Pretoria’s Tuks Camerata, under the guidance of Michael Barrett. Simultaneously, I enrolled in part-time acting classes at the Performing Arts Lifestyle Institute in Pretoria, South Africa. It was during this time, and through various workshops, that I developed an even deeper love for storytelling and the art of performing.

In my final year of studies I was full time at the performing arts institute and studying at the University. Scattered and torn between the two lives I was living.

I was driving with my then girlfriend from Rustenburg, South Africa to Pretoria, South Africa when we drove into a riot, my car got hit by a brick on the driver’s side, barely missing my window and nearly taking my life. It was chaos and it was the moment everything changed. My emotions were all over the place, my life as well, burnout kicked in and the trauma of this event ended with me sitting at a Psychologist who would change my life. This was when I decided to pause my studies and pursue film and acting full time. The realization of how short life is, and the fact that many times it was films, music and art that got me through the darkest times in my life – made me decide to put all the energy I was putting into my scattered life into the thing I really wanted to do.

Turns out films actually do save lives.

I then continued with training at various institutes, such as Anthony Meindls Actors Workshop and worked with acting coaches like Bianca Amato and others. I also  on the South African Guild of Actors executive committee where I use my BCom(Law) degree (yes I did finish it).

Making Films can be just as therapeutic, if not more, than watching them. I love the human condition and trying to understand what makes all of us tick in the various messy ways it can. The messier, the better.

3. What was the first film that truly unsettled you?

House of Wax – I was way too young, secretly watched it and couldn’t sleep for a week.

4. Who would be your dream collaborator, living or dead?

There are various directors, actors and filmmakers I would like to work with. Firstly Danishka Esterhazy is hands down one of my favorite directors and will do any film with her again. She is a master at what she does and a dream to work with.

There are so many and the list keeps growing year by year.

Some of the directors would be  Baloji (Omen – Cannes Film Festival) Curry Barker (Obsession), Coralie Fargeat (The Substance), Philip Barantini (Adolescence), Martin McDonagh (Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri), Jean-Marc Vallée (Big Little Lies), Taika Waititi (Jojo Rabbit) – absolutely love his work, Dian Weys (Vultures), Jason Suidekis (Ted Lasso), creator Dan Erickson (Severance), Alejandro G. Iñárritu (Birdman).

Some actors I would love to work with: Benedict Cumberbatch, Sam Rockwell, Steve Carrel, Jason Suidekis, Oliva Coleman, Brian Cox, Viola Davids, Kate Winslet, Reese Witherspoon, Jennifer Aniston, Michael Keaton, Taron Egerton and the list keeps growing and of course more stories with the wonderful cast of Match.

I love working with people who value the process, who create a safe space to surrender and allow yourself to go completely commit outside of your comfort zones, those who commit to story – most importantly the ones who have fun! My favorite thing about the work is the team work that occurs between people from all walks of life, different countries, different worldviews – the unity in diversity.

I just love working.

5. If your worst fear became a film, what would it look like?

Being trapped in a cave that’s rapidly filling with water and inhabited by aggressive, hungry snakes is likely to be the most perilous situation I can think of… or a room filled with mousetraps if you know what I mean!

From surviving life-changing moments off screen to embracing complex, challenging roles on it, Jacques Adriaanse’s passion for storytelling shines through in every answer. With an impressive body of work spanning South African, European and American productions, Match marks another fascinating chapter in a career that’s clearly on the rise. We thank Jacques for taking part in Black Sunday Confessions and wish him, Danishka Esterhazy and the entire Match team the very best with the film’s festival screening and its UK release this August.

Match trailer

Horror trailers