A new face in
NKANYISO MCHUNU: FIRST MAJOR TV ROLE AS NGCOLOSI’S BODYGUARD
The plot thickens with the arrival of Nkululeko in this popular e.tv soapie.
He always knew his place in the world was that of a storyteller. This is regardless of believing that he would one day tell stories through music.
Nkanyiso Mchunu says growing up in Pietermaritzburg in a township called Imbali, he continuously pictured himself on a stage, singing to the masses; a dream he tried pursuing after matric by travelling to the city of gold, Johannesburg.
“I got an agent and he advised me to focus my energy on other things as well. So I went to the State Theatre in Pretoria to watch a play and was blown away by stage acting. I called the agent to tell him that I wanted to focus my energies, as he put it, on acting, and the rest is history.”
Mchunu says deciding to join an acting school owned by famous South African director and producer Duma ka Ndlovu was the best decision he has ever made.
“This is the person that made the likes of Dingaan Mokebe and Tsholofelo Matshaba’s talent be noticed and being in his presence was a blessing.”
Dog-eat-dog world He lets out a long sigh of distress before saying how challenging it has been for him to get a foot in the door of the acting industry.
“It’s hard. It’s a dog-eat-dog world,” he said, explaining that irrespective of the industry growing – though not as much as he would like, with new channels and soapies emerging – faces remain the same, in movies, drama series, adverts and soapies.
“I still struggle to get a role as a police officer in a comedy series, or a gangster who gets shot after a few episodes.
“This is because, despite the so-called growth, the industry is still small. It’s filled with people who only get to act because they have such and such followers on social media.
“The acting industry is just not opening up and a lot of talented actors remain unemployed.”
Man on the run Mchunu is set to join the all-star cast of e.tv drama series Imbewu from Tuesday as a troubled and mysterious stranger on the run.
“When viewers get to meet Nkululeko, they will get to understand he is a man with a dark past; a former military guy, who tried working on his aggression and short-temper and left the army a bit neurotic.
“He is a man who never knew his parents because his mother died when he was born, and he was raised by his mother’s alcoholic friend.
He is introduced when he saves Ngcolosi and MaZulu from a hijacking. Ngcolosi is intrigued and employs him at Maluju as head of security, replacing Phunyuka.”
Mchunu says Nkululeko and Ngcolosi form a strong friendship. Ngcolosi finds a protector in him after Phunyuka’s betrayal; Nkululeko finds the role model and a father figure he never had in Ngcolosi.
Waiting for a year “Joining Imbewu has been one of the biggest highlights of my career.
“I knew I got the role in 2017, but was told I would be introduced somewhere down the line.
“Something happened and I had to wait a year for the role.
“It was during this time that I got an opportunity to study other characters,” Mchunu said.
Getting the call-up was overwhelming and a dream come true, he added, but there was a lot of work he still needed to do.
Preparation
“[My] character has to look intimidating. So I hit the gym hard.”
The actor was told he would be a character like no other, so he read books on uMkhonto weSizwe (MK) guys and watched military movies to help him do the role justice.
“Nkululeko will be the type of guy who, if you come across him on a good day, can be the sweetest.
“He will be a symbol of hope, teaching viewers that you can come from nothing and be something – and that losing hope should never be an option, neither is running away from problems.”
Shaka Zulu He is very content focusing on his new role on Imbewu, but would one day love to play the role of Shaka Zulu or a black James Bond.
He believes he can do whatever he puts his mind to, explaining that back in 2013 he used to be 103kg, until he decided to lose weight after missing out on an acting role because of his looks.
“I went on OLX and bought some gym equipment,” he said.
With hard work, portraying Shaka, a man he has read a lot about, will not be too difficult.