TONY KGOROGE’S ‘IMBEWU’ TAKEOVER
INDUSTRY giant Tony Kgoroge brings his wealth of experience to Imbewu:
The Seed this week as he plays the character of Zimele “Ngcolosi” Bhengu.
The role was played by actor Mpumelelo Bhulose, who was fired in July, allegedly for his absenteeism and for arriving late.
Ngcolosi is MaZulu’s (Leleti Khumalo) husband and one of the three shareholders of Maluju Oil, a company he views as rightfully his. Kgoroge will tackle the strong-willed, powerful and larger-than-life character from Friday when he continues with the storyline.
Kgoroge is well known for his leading roles in the series Gaz’lam and Zero Tolerance. He’s also acted in numerous feature films, among them Lord of War, Blood Diamond, Invictus and The First Grader as well as featured in TV series such as Isidingo, Dark Angels, Deafening Silence, Soul City, Madam and Eve, Homecoming and Life is Wild. The actor is the president of the Cultural and Creative Industries Federation of South Africa.
“Entering the show when a character has already been established is risky, but I look at it as a continuation and not a takeover.
“The character has a different look and viewers might interpret that in various ways but, as an actor, our job is to get into character and do justice to the part. There are different techniques in which to do this,” he said.
Kgoroge said that since shooting began, he was not given any strict brief about how the character should be portrayed.
“I’ve worked with the producers before and they know what I am capable of; there is a level of professionalism and trust between us. I wasn’t really told what to do with the character.
“I was given the freedom to play around and if I have any trouble, then I can go back to them for clarity.”
Kgoroge said one of the major challenges he faced while filming was the fact that he struggled with the pronunciation of Zulu words.
“I come from Joburg and we speak ‘Joburg Zulu’, and Durban, Zulu is very different, so on set I was pronouncing words wrong and it was hectic. I had to basically relearn the language.” He enjoyed the storyline though. “The wonderful thing about the script is that it highlights who we are. It highlights love, friendships and families. And it is diverse. It will help South Africans look at one another as the same.
“It’s a script that will build the country and that is exactly what South Africa needs.”
Kgoroge said he also admired directors for giving Durban actors a chance.
“Durban has great talent and KZN has never been given exposure. It’s a great script. It’s fresh and great to see new faces.
“We were reaching a point where actors were moving from one show to another – it was as if we were running out of talent. But that’s not the case and the show proves this,” he said.