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NUMBER of professionals with scarce skills are ditching their lucrative jobs lately for acting careers and that is just what lokshin soapie hottie Bohang Moeko did.
Think of Nyalleng Thibedi, a chemical engineer, popularly known as Rama in the Mzansi Magic drama mini-series
Marjorie Langa, a lab technician, aka Gloria in Scandal!, among many others.
Throughout his teens, Moeko wanted to make his mark as an actor, then everything fell into place two years ago when he quit his 9-5 quantity surveyor job to carve a niche for himself in the local television industry. He planned to work himself up to become a dominant force in the feature film world abroad.
Acting is my first love but as is always the case, I needed something to fall back on in case I don t make it to the top as an actor, said the 27-year-old University of Free State honours graduate.
Born in Protea North, Soweto, the Bloemfontein s Christian Brothers College 2006 matriculant got a job in Durban before starting to work in front of the camera.
My interest in acting started at a young age, spurred on by watching films, which I enjoy to this day,” said Moeko.
Small, in-studio camera acting roles was where it all began while working in Durban. I later worked with independent film producers.”
While in Durban he attended Durban s OCA Acting Studio to hone his acting skills, at the same time using his model looks to his advantage by entering the Mr South Africa contest. The imposingly muscled Moeko finished in the top 12 in 2013.
It became obvious that I needed to relocate to Jozi to be in the public eye and eventually appear in local television flicks because Joburg is the hub of South Africa s television industry.”
Last November his acting aspirations were realised when he auditioned and succeeded in getting to play the role of creative director Victor Ndlovu of Slick Vic Media in season 2 of
I was over the moon when I got such a big role in my first attempt at auditioning, said Moeko. I am grateful to be given the opportunity of playing Victor, my first credited role.”
He said the crew and his fellow actors made it easy for him to find his footing and credits Rosie Motene for making his soapie debut a success.
In fact, everyone involved in the production. I have come to embrace my stay with the family because of the camaraderie and respect we have for each other.”
His biggest boob, though, was when he fluffed his lines during a shoot, repeatedly calling a smoothie in his hand a wrap sandwich it was cut, cut, and cut several times.
Describing his character, Moeko said Victor was basically a young, ambitious man who enjoys seducing and breaking women s hearts. He is charming but his inferiority complex overwhelms him. He always wants everything done for him
On his future: My ultimate goal is to act abroad. Television acting has become a vehicle to work on my craft. The local entertainment industry is the perfect space to pursue my international stardom goals.
I love doing feature films, so my next big move, a project planned for the next five years, is hitting Los Angeles in the US, take the international feature film world by storm. I want to do that for a living.
Moeko views himself as driven and ambitious. During his downtime he hits the gym to perfect his well-chiselled body. He also has the occasional boys night out with friends for a drink.
I try to eat as healthily as possible because what you eat is important and looks will come as a bonus.”
He appreciates the work and talent of other local actors and makes it a point to watch those who kill the roles they play.
I make it a point to watch them in action. Motene does it for me. She s a professional and a mentor to new actors like myself. I also watch Sdumo Mtshali, Pallance Dladla and Patrick Shai. They really do it for me although they re not the only ones. I m also a fan of Will Smith and Denzel Washington.”
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