 American actor Taye Diggs played the lead role of investigative journalist Henry Nxumalo , with fellow American actor Gabriel Mann as his photographer Jürgen Schadeberg , and South African <unk> <unk> as his wife , Florence Nxumalo . The South African short @-@ story author , Can Themba , who also worked with Nxumalo at Drum magazine , was played by the little @-@ known South African actor , <unk> Masha . Apart from the British actor Jason Flemyng who took the part of Jim Bailey , the ex @-@ R.A.F. pilot who owned Drum , the rest of the parts were taken by South African actors , the best known being Zola ( credited as <unk> Dlamini ) playing the part of Slim , the Sophiatown gang leader . 
