A SHIFT in the right direction
TV presenter and actor AARON MOLOISI, 38, talks about life after Shift, Caster Semenya, Lupita Nyong’o and more.
Aaron Moloisi is popularly known as the presenter on SABC1’s talk show
Shift, which came to an end in February after 12 years on air. Aaron was with the popular lunchtime programme for eight years. He says the programme’s closing is a bittersweet feeling for him, but it’s good that the SABC ended Shift while it was still highly successful – at its end it still enjoyed an enviable viewership of nearly two million per episode. Even government took note of Shift’s popularity, and often sent congratulatory messages to its producers, while the IEC partnered with it to promote local elections. The Limpopo-born star says there’s no particular reason the show was taken off air: “It’s not because they weren’t doing a great job, but perhaps the channel felt it needed a revamp.”
Aaron boasts an impressive 15-year TV career. Starting off on the popular ‘90s youth talk show Take 5, he moved on to spots on The Big Question and
Special Assignment. He’s grateful the journey has been an easy one, where he was able to carve a space out for himself. A jack of many trades, Aaron has also ventured into acting and featured in a few TV drama series, such as the provocative After Nine and perennial fave Generations. Currently he has a casual role as a prosecutor on Skeem
Sam, where he only films when the drama has a court case scripted.
Life before fame
“I grew up in Ga-Dikgale in Limpopo. My younger sister, cousins and I were raised by my grandmother. My mother worked as a teacher outside the province, which meant we only got to see her once or twice a month and during school holidays. She never got married to my late father, and as a child I never bothered to ask why. After matric, I studied for a Bachelor of Science in Chemistry and Microbiology at Fort Hare University in the Eastern Cape. My first ever job was in IT, where I worked for three years before I ventured into TV in 2002 on Take 5.”
Moving on after Shift
“I’ll be concentrating more on my production company, Moloisi Media this year. It’s been in existence for five years, but I never really had time to pay attention to it because of Shift. The company has two shows debuting on TV soon. The first, called Driving in
Heels, will launch in April on SABC 3. It’ll be presented by car journalist Vuyi Mpofu and I’ll be its executive producer. The show will chronicle the journey of a typical South African driver, educating viewers on road safety. The second project will air in November and is a reality show about teachers. It’ll profile the work they do, while showcasing the challenges they face that prevent them from working at their full potential. I’m also a voice-over artist, so you’ll get to hear my voice on TV adverts.”
Mingling with Lupita Nyong’o
“I have a small role as a chess conductor in the 2016 Hollywood movie Life of
Katwe. The film is a biographical sports drama about a poverty-stricken girl who learns to play chess and gains fame after performing at the World Chess Olympiads. The movie is directed by Mira Nair and also stars Selma actor, David Oyelowo. It was shot mostly in Kenya, but for a week they filmed here in South Africa in Attridgeville, Pretoria. While on set in May 2015, I struck up a conversation with Lupita, one of the main actresses of the film. I made a comment about how much darker she was in real life. The irony, of course, is how I’m just as dark – if not darker. I knew that’d get a reaction from her, and it did. She made a snide remark and we had a good laugh about it later. That was an invaluable moment for me; she’s probably forgotten about it now but for me it’s all: ‘I got to be on set with Lupita Nyong’o for a Hollywood movie. Priceless’!”
Friendship with Caster Semenya
“I met her in 2006, before she became ‘Caster the golden girl.’ She came up to me and started chatting about how she’d always wanted to meet me as she had seen me on TV. When she introduced herself, she warned me she would be big in the sports industry. I brushed it off then but look where she is now! We clicked immediately. I treasure how our friendship isn’t based on what we do, we just have a close brother and sister relationship. The irritating misconception, of course, about Caster is that she’s arrogant and illiterate. She’s none of those things. She is the most genuine person I know; she’s also not fazed by her fame and appreciates even the smallest victories in life. She’s hilarious, frank and a horrible dancer.”
Questions about sexuality
“I often get asked if I’m gay or not; and I don’t get the fuss. My answer is always: whoever is concerned about my sexuality will find out when I get married – only after seeing if I marry a man or woman. Luckily in SA we can marry either gender.”
Planning for 2017 and beyond
“I want to grow Moloisi Media and produce more meaninful shows. There are more business opportunities in the pipeline as well. My mom calls me Arie, so I decided to name my hair food product Arie’s Choice, after her (which will be launched later in the year). I often get asked what I use on my hair and so I decided to create my own product.”
“WHOEVER IS CONCERNED ABOUT MY SEXUALITY WILL FIND OUT WHEN I GET MARRIED.”