LEON SCHUSTER
The prankster on women, working and getting his grandkids to call him ‘Schucks’
LEON Schuster, 62, has created some of South Africa’s most popular films over the past 25 years. From You Must
Be Joking and Oh Schucks … It’s Schuster in the ’80s and There’s a Zulu on my
Stoep, Panic Mechanic and Millennium Menace in the ’90s to Mr Bones and Mad Buddies in the 2000s. The “candid-camera king” has crossed barriers to become one of our most commercially successful filmmakers and pranksters — and he’s not done yet.
I grew up in Bloemfontein. There wasn’t much money but that taught me to walk with my feet on the earth and not fly in the sky. My childhood taught me to be humble and not to anticipate great success. My parents taught me that you need to work hard to achieve and that’s what I’ve been doing. My mom was a nursing sister and my dad was a travelling salesman. We only saw him over weekends but he was very dedicated to my brother and me. He taught me a love of sports and motivated me. If my dad wasn’t on the road, he’d be playing rugby with us. My brother and I both played rugby for the Free State. I’m still close to my boet. He and my 92-year-old mother live in Bloemfontein so I go there a lot. My mother is a wonderful woman, full of the joys of living.
Once, I was a teacher. I lasted two years before I became a radio announcer on a pranking programme. It was popular and so I did it in front of the camera. That’s how I got into movies.
I love my three grandchildren dearly. It’s a whole new dimension in my life. I didn’t want to be an “Oupa”, because it sounds old, so I’m teaching them to call me Schucks.
My ex-wife and I have four children.
We were married for 20 years when we got divorced. It’s a sad thing but shit happens. We have a good relationship now.
I’ve never remarried. I don’t know why. Maybe I haven’t found the right lady. I hope I do. It’s good to have a partner, especially at my age. I’m a bit scared of women because I don’t always know what their intentions are. Is it the glamour or is it me that attracts them? I have lots of loyal female friends. I was in a long-term relationship for seven years. But I’m an insomniac and a workaholic. I’ve made about 13 films in the past 20 years. Maybe that’s why I don’t have a woman. My movies always take first place. For my latest film, I didn’t want to take too many
klaps . Recently, I’m more scared. I have a bad knee and can’t run away that quickly anymore. It hampers me. But if I have a gag in mind, I have to do it even if I’m dondered because I know the audience will like it. It takes five hours to apply my prosthetic masks every day for seven
weeks. It’s exhausting. When I’m sitting in the chair I think about the consequences of a certain gag. Will they shoot me?
Bliksem me? But when I get out there, I just do it. It’s getting harder to do gags because people recognise me. When a gag doesn’t work, I get depressed. On the other hand, it’s heavenly when it works. I’m inspired by the works I grew up with, like the Marx Brothers, Laurel and Hardy and Charlie Chaplin. Even slapstick can have a good story.
Never say no to a challenge you believe
in. The critics may slate me but I feel about that the way a dog feels about a lamppost. I’ve built a large audience of all demographics. I’m proud of that. But nothing is guaranteed. You can’t anticipate box-office success. You can stand on your head and whistle Sarie Marais through your toes — it’s the audience that makes or breaks a film. I’ve been accused of toilet humour but I’d rather give the kids an innocent fart in the right place than booze, drugs and sex.
I can’t drink because of ulcers. I’m trying to look after myself so I can make more movies. I have one cigar a day but try not to inhale. As a perfectionist, I push myself hard. I am taking a long holiday soon.
I’m claustrophobic. I never get into a lift alone. If it gets stuck, I might have a heart attack. And I’m not that comfortable with flying because it’s a contained space. There’s nothing like going out onto the open ocean in a boat for some deep-sea fishing. It’s my biggest desire to catch a marlin, tag it and release it. I hope I do it in my lifetime. My dad taught me to fish. Once I got a hook caught in my thumb and my dad took it out with his pliers. I wish I hadn’t been such a people pleaser. If I’d listened to myself more than the audience, maybe I’d have made a film we could export. But I always gave them what they wanted.
Everybody is afraid of the unknown. I’m Christian and so I believe in an afterlife, which is a great consolation. I’d like to be remembered as someone who brought joy to the hearts of others. Laughter is healing.
‘The critics may slate me but I feel about that the way a dog feels about a lamppost’
Schucks, Your Country Needs You is on circuit.