
Pearl Thusi
Actor · Born May 13, 1988 (38) · Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
Sithembile Xola Pearl Thusi (born 13 May 1988) is a South African actress, model, and presenter. She is known for her roles as Patricia Kopong in the BBC/HBO comedy-drama series The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency, Dayana Mampasi in the ABC thriller Quantico, and Samkelo in the romance film Catching Feelings. In 2020, she starred in the titular role of Netflix's first African original series, Queen Sono.
Read moreShow less
Biography from TMDB.
- May 13, 1988 (38)
- Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa
- Actor
- 10 on MovieCove · 12 credits in all
What are Pearl Thusi's films like?
Across their 8 MovieCove titles with a thematic analysis, their films lean Power and Morality.
Themes
What they feel like to watch
Ironic 0 · Wry 0 · Earnest 5
Light 1 · Serious 4 · Dark 1
A split, not a type: Grounded 3 · Stylized 1 · Heightened 2
Gentle 0 · Charged 4 · Intense 2
Steady 1 · Shifting 4 · Whiplash 1
A split, not a type: Straight-faced 3 · Some laughs 2 · Funny 1
Slow burn 0 · Even-paced 5 · Relentless 1
Casual 3 · Engaged 3 · Full focus 0
A split, not a type: Easy watch 3 · Affecting 2 · Heavy 1
Resolved 5 · Open-ended 1 · Ambiguous 0
Roles they play
- Mentoras Brenda Riviera in Kalushi: The Story of Solomon Mahlangu (2016)
- Allyas Tala in The Scorpion King: Book of Souls (2018)
- Heroas Queen Sono in Queen Sono (2020)
- Threshold guardianas Zama Zulu in Fistful of Vengeance (2022)
Moods and endings
- Happy2
- Bittersweet2
- Tragic1
- Ambiguous3
AI-generated from each title's plot synopsis and cast list, with extra plot summaries, reviews and Parents Guide notes for titles the model may not know, and the model's own knowledge of the ones it recognizes. Only analyzed titles count, so this covers part of the filmography; the feel axes count films only for now.
Where can I watch Pearl Thusi's films?
As of October 24, 2026, 8 of their 10 MovieCove titles stream on a subscription or free service, most on Netflix (4).
Subscription and free streaming for Pearl Thusi's titles on MovieCove; rent and buy are not counted. Titles are listed by Midcredits score, highest first, at most 12 per service; a dashed chip is a producer credit or a minor one, such as a thanks. A service opens the browse page, which counts movies only, so its number can differ.
Filmography
12 credits, 10 with a MovieCove page; 1 appearance as themselves is hidden until asked for.

Destroying Desmond (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2026)

Beauty and the Bester(2025)
Midcredits score: 15th percentile of all shows
Fistful of Vengeance(2022)
Midcredits score: 15th percentile of all films
Queen Sono(2020)
Midcredits score: 24th percentile of all shows
Bulletproof 2(2020)
Midcredits score: 7th percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 9th percentile of all films
Catching Feelings(2017)
Midcredits score: 42nd percentile of all films
Midcredits score: 68th percentile of all films
Einfach Rosa – Wolken über Kapstadt (not in the MovieCove catalog yet)(2015)

Tremors 5: Bloodlines(2015)
Midcredits score: 18th percentile of all films
Quantico(2015)
Midcredits score: 32nd percentile of all shows
Midcredits score: 89th percentile of all shows
Career shape
Star power in the 86th percentile of 239,109 people with a billed film role, over a full career of 11 titles from 2009 to 2026; peak year 2015.

Biggest box office
Kalushi: The Story of Solomon Mahlangu (2016)

Highest rated
Catching Feelings (2017)

Most popular right now
The Scorpion King: Book of Souls (2018)
Film career
Peak 2015 · at the high point of their film career. Film roles by billing, audience size and rating; 25+ votes. A show carries a single first-air date, so shows are not on the curve.
- 2015Screen debut· Quantico
- 2015First film· Tremors 5: Bloodlines
Counts from TMDB across their full career, self appearances out; a title counts in every role they held on it. The ring is the typical Midcredits score (the median percentile) of the role's titles that are on MovieCove, shown from 5 scored.
How do Pearl Thusi's films land?
Their typical MovieCove film has a Midcredits score in the 17th percentile, the median of all 6; across their 6 films with reception data, the typical film sits in the 20th percentile for acclaim.
- 75th and up1
- 50th to 74th1
- 25th to 49th2
- Below 25th6
Shape of the crowd
5 of their 10 titles are Mixed.
- Universally Loved1
- Cult Classic3
- Broadly Agreed1
- Mixed5
Reviewers score the acting 54/100 in their films, across 6 reviewed titles; fans 72, detractors 26. The element that speaks to their work as an actor.
Percentiles are each film's standing among all films on MovieCove; the typical film is the median, so one outlier cannot drag it. Percentiles and reviewer scores count the films IMDb credits them on, for now; the Midcredits score bands, the shape of the crowd and the two cards count their MovieCove titles, shows included (a show ranked among shows), appearances as themselves left out. A descriptor is the shape of a title's IMDb rating distribution against the catalog; "most divisive" needs a spread wider than half of all titles, and a card names only a principal credit: a craft role, and on a show a crew role or a run of episodes, never a courtesy credit or a one-off guest spot.
Is Pearl Thusi's work okay for kids?
Across a limited sample of up to 3 MovieCove titles with content scores.
Severity 0–100 from the Content Guide. Categories with under 10 votes on a title are not counted.
Who does Pearl Thusi work with?
People who share at least 2 of Pearl Thusi's MovieCove titles, grouped by what they did on them; Don Michael Paul shares the most, 3.
Directors
- Don Michael PaulShared titles: Bulletproof 2 (2020), The Scorpion King: Book of Souls (2018), Tremors 5: Bloodlines (2015)See all 3 shared titles with Don Michael Paul

- Kagiso LedigaShared titles: Queen Sono (2020), Catching Feelings (2017)See all 2 shared titles with Kagiso Lediga

Actors
- Kate LiquorishShared titles: Queen Sono (2020), Catching Feelings (2017)See all 2 shared titles with Kate Liquorish

Composers, cinematographers and editors
- Frederik WiedmannShared titles: Bulletproof 2 (2020), The Scorpion King: Book of Souls (2018), Tremors 5: Bloodlines (2015)See all 3 shared titles with Frederik Wiedmann

- Vanick MoradianShared titles: Bulletproof 2 (2020), The Scorpion King: Book of Souls (2018), Tremors 5: Bloodlines (2015)See all 3 shared titles with Vanick Moradian
- Khulekani ZondiShared titles: Queen Sono (2020), Catching Feelings (2017)See all 2 shared titles with Khulekani Zondi
- Michael SwanShared titles: Bulletproof 2 (2020), Tremors 5: Bloodlines (2015)See all 2 shared titles with Michael Swan

Producers
- Greg HolsteinShared titles: Bulletproof 2 (2020), The Scorpion King: Book of Souls (2018)See all 2 shared titles with Greg Holstein
- Lisa GoodingShared titles: Bulletproof 2 (2020), Tremors 5: Bloodlines (2015)See all 2 shared titles with Lisa Gooding

- Luke HenkemanShared titles: Queen Sono (2020), Catching Feelings (2017)See all 2 shared titles with Luke Henkeman
- Marvin SavenShared titles: Bulletproof 2 (2020), The Scorpion King: Book of Souls (2018)See all 2 shared titles with Marvin Saven
Mixed roles
- Jafta MamaboloShared titles: Beauty and the Bester (2025), Kalushi: The Story of Solomon Mahlangu (2016)See all 2 shared titles with Jafta Mamabolo

