GC freaks me out – Dladla
GROUNDED: GAY ACTOR SAYS HE’S NOT AT ALL LIKE THE NO-FILTERS CHARACTER HE PLAYS Homophobia is real and it starts at home, he says.
Khaya Dladla was six years old when he started ballet, acting and swimming classes. He was the only black person in his ballet class, and the only boy.
“My parents took me to these classes not because they thought I could be good, but just to keep me busy because I was a bit hyperactive,” Dladla says, laughing. But then he was spotted by a producer and so his work in the entertainment world began at the tender age of eight.
Now he plays the colourful character of GC in Mzansi’s most viewed telenovela, Uzalo. GC is a flamboyant, no filters, gay man who works in a salon and knows everybody’s business.
Building GC
“I love the role because it’s not me. Watching GC freaks me out. I don’t have friends like him and I would never have a friend like GC,” he says, adding that the character is “so extra, has no chill factor or filters”. “I think before I speak, and I don’t just open my mouth like GC.” So giving a credible performance of this character and making him as believable and comical as he comes across involves a lot of research on his part. “I take bits and pieces from each and every little GC I meet. The character is an infusion of so many people I’ve met. “When I got the role I was told that he is a township gay man with a salon, and I just couldn’t relate. “So I went to salons where there were gay people, chilled with them and observed their tendencies and mannerisms,” he says. “I gave the character colour and made him crazier. We’ve all met a GC in our lives; a person who thinks they are slaying while they are actually doing the opposite.”
Although he finds the acting industry to be harsh, he says he has developed a thick skin and still finds the industry is full of opportunities.
“We have learned to take rejection because our whole lives are about auditions. These are our interviews. Sometimes you get the job, sometimes you don’t.
“The industry has taught me to be humble because it can accept you and then spit you out, and you must be able to breathe once you’ve been spat out.”
It’s tough, he says, but he does what he has to do to make a living. For him, it’s not about fame, but about doing the job and getting paid.
“People change when they are famous and you wish you could remind them of the day they auditioned and what they said when they were asked how badly they wanted the job, and jog their memory about how they said they were willing to do anything to get the job.”
Unlike the character he portrays on Uzalo, Dladla says he is not a dramatic person and would not let fame change what his parents taught him about staying true to himself.
“You know what is right, and you know what is wrong. I would not take a picture standing next to a Lamborghini or a vineyard and claim they are mine. I can’t do those things.
“I live my life for myself. Social media has messed up so many kids,” he said, adding that youngsters are starving themselves so they can buy the weave they have seen on Bonang Matheba.
“Bonang didn’t pay for that weave. They gave it to her – and you are starving yourself to buy it and it does nothing for you, does not even change you a bit.”
He adds that he thinks social media is leading some young people to compromise their morals in the hope of attaining a celebrity lifestyle.
He says that his parents always made it clear what he can and cannot afford, and that he was never confused about his worth.
Theatre acting
He believes that theatre actors are more grounded and understand why and what they are doing as actors and that they are the kind of people who are not really interested in social media.
“I don’t care who is more famous or who has the most followers. That is all fluff,” Dladla says.
He adds that theatre is the best training academy for actors.
“I don’t trust actors who didn’t do theatre because they don’t ask themselves questions like ‘will I change when I’m famous’?
“And a lot of people in the industry just want to be famous, and they do become famous, however, a lot of brands don’t want to be associated with them.”
Tackling homophobia
“GC is funny, the comic relief of the show, so when I came up with the story of the parents having to force GC to marry a woman, I sat down with the producers and pointed out that there are so many GCs out there and they too have problems, so let’s tackle them.
“I presented the story to them, and they were not sure at first if I could pull it off. So I immediately went there for a few minutes in front of them, and that convinced them.“
Dladla, who has been acting for 20 years, says he has only portrayed two gay roles.
“I told the story of homophobia because homophobia is real and the weird thing about it is that it starts at home.
“The reason why your neighbour is able to swear at you and call you names is because your family has allowed it, they have not addressed it.”
He believes homosexuality should be accepted. “Whose life have I hurt by not saying that I’m gay? It’s one of the very small things that people focus on that they shouldn’t.
I would never have a friend like GC
People change when they are famous and you always wish you could remind them of the day they auditioned and what they said when they were asked how badly they wanted the job, and jog their memory about how they said they were willing to do anything to get the job.
“I’m as human as you can get. I retaliate like a human being. You mess with me, I slap you. People should leave other people alone,” he says.
Future direction
“I would like to play a serious character with a serious profession. I would like to play a lawyer, something different,” he says.
At the moment, the 26-year–old is getting calls for roles similar to the one he is playing in Uzalo and he’s not pleased about it.
“I don’t want to be typecast. A lot of people call, others send me scripts and ask me to read about the character.
“I don’t even bother once I see the character’s name. Why would I play a character called Lipstick?”
Dladla explains that the entertainment industry has a tendency to want actors to play the same character that they played in their debut.
“I’ve played a lot of characters on stage. I’ve even played a Nigerian. I’m good with accents. When I speak Xhosa, you will be convinced that I’m Xhosa.
“When I portray a certain role, I work on it so hard that viewers have no choice but to be convinced.
“It’s about authenticity more than anything. Our job is to make you believe, that’s all.”
Busy bee
Dladla says that he is happiest when he is on stage, be it as a master of ceremonies or acting.
“I’m currently doing a theatre production, which is huge. Something I’m enjoying every night.” The production, which is called
How Long, was written by Gibson Kente and directed by Duma ka Ndlovu.
“I headline with Thembi Mtshali, Phindile Gwala from Muvhango and Mondli Makhoba who played Pastor Nkosi on Uzalo.
“It’s a jam-packed show choreographed by Somizi Mhlongo and Vusi Majola.
“It’s larger than life and was staged in 1972. It was banned then and Gibson was arrested because of the content of the show.
“Now we are doing it again and I play a character that was played back then by Somizi’s father, Ndaba Mhlongo. Mary Twala, Somizi’s mother, was also part of the show.” He says he grew up watching
’Sgudi ’Snaysi and enjoyed watching Mtshali and now he has the privilege of acting on the same stage as her, an honour that will remain one of the highlights of his career. “I appreciate such moments. “Bra Don Mlangeni Nawa was Laqhasha, a weird and funny character in ’Sgudi ’Snaysi, but when you sit down with him you find out that he’s got layers and layers of talent.
“You would have to be stupid to walk away from him without having learned anything.”