Diamond in the rough
Zolisa Xaluva joins The Queen as ruthless criminal Diamond.
The Queen Mon-Thu Mzansi Magic (*161) 21:00
Zolisa Xaluva was almost as famous for his gay character Jason Malinga on Generations (1994-2014) as he was for his character’s dreads, but the actor is sporting a much shorter ’do these days as he tackles his newest role, as criminal Diamond Mabuza who makes his onscreen debut on Monday 30 October. And for a change, Zolisa is playing a villain…
Who is Diamond? He is a criminal who left town 10 years ago. Officer Jerry Maake (Shona Ferguson) made sure that he was arrested back then, but he isn’t back just to settle old scores. He has business ambitions, but Diamond certainly hasn’t forgotten what Jerry did to him a decade ago. How does he approach the community? He is eager to make his presence felt. Diamond is charming and cheerful and quickly endears himself to people. But he is also calculating manipulator. So what type of crime is he involved in? His forte is armed robbery, which landed him in prison. Cash-in-transit heists are his preferred robberies and he isn’t afraid to get his hands dirty. How do the Mabuza ladies feel about him? Gracious (Rami Chuene) is his sister-inlaw and was married to his late brother Goldfinger (Patrick Ndlovu). She knows how he operates and flat-out despises him. Goodness (Zenande Mfenyana) is his niece and has only fond memories of him and is under his spell. So is he stepping on Gracious’s toes as the new “man of the house”? He’s actually happy to make Gracious feel like she is in charge, but this guy plays second fiddle to no one. He wants to get into the drug business, which will put him in opposition to the Khozas… His main business is heists but in his quest to become the next “Don”, he knows that he must diversify. There are current and future enemies on the horizon but he is well researched, rested and equipped to take on whoever threatens to get in the way. How did you prepare for a different character like this? We don’t have the luxury of time – sign your contract today, shoot tomorrow. Thankfully I have many characters inside me.