‘Surviving Seven Demons Is No Joke’ — Mogali Masuku on Tapping Into Mary Magdalene’s Strength in ‘Testament’ Series

For actress Mogali Masuku, starring in Angel Studios’ new series “Testament,” playing Mary of Magdala was more than a role — it was the fulfillment of a protective instinct that began when she was just seven years old. Masuku’s journey to embodying one of the most misunderstood figures in Scripture is a story of childhood conviction, historical reclamation, and a casting process that felt nothing short of divinely orchestrated.

The first seed was planted not in a script, but in a sermon.

“Mary got on my radar when I was a little girl actually,” Masuku recalled in an August 8 interview, thinking back to her time in the Church of Christ in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe. “The pastor was talking about her and he was describing her as a woman who was a temptress… He used Mary as an example of how she spent her life paying penance for how she was” (a trend tied to a sixth century sermon by Gregory the Great).

Even at seven, something felt off. “I instinctively felt so strongly to defend her and protect her because it felt wrong,” Masuku said.

In adulthood, when the film, television, and theatre actress turned to the Bible, what she found there was not the caricature from her youth.

“I have in the Bible found no story about her other than Jesus cast out seven demons from her,” Masuku said.

The Mary she discovered was a woman of radical, unwavering commitment to the One who set her free.

“She met him… she saw him. She said, ‘Right, you are God. That’s it for the rest of my life. I’m dedicating it to walking with you.’ And she did it. She kept her word, which is admirable.”

Masuku emphasized the immense courage this required in light of persecution the early church faced.

“These were Jewish people who were being murdered for betraying the faith and also for being Jewish,” she explained.

In a time when the male apostles were being targeted and killed, it was women like Mary who became the bedrock of the burgeoning faith.

“She and other women like her held the church together,” Masuku noted, referencing how the early church often met in the homes of women like Phoebe and others mentioned in the Book of Acts.

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