Born in Kwa Mashu Township, this 44-year-old talent became renowned for her Broadway performance in the musical “Sarafina!” about the Soweto student uprisings. She was nominated for a 1987 Tony Award for her performance, and appeared alongside Whoopi Goldberg in the 1990 film version. Dabbling in South African theater and smaller roles in films like “Cry, the Beloved Country,” Khumalo stood up in the center of an Oscar-nominated film once again, in 2004’s HIV/AIDS drama “Yesterday.”
Growing up in Port Elizabeth without a television in 1960s apartheid South Africa, Krige originally planned on being a psychologist. She ventured to London in 1975 to study acting, and landed her first major role as Sybil Gordon in the Academy Award winning film “Chariots of Fire.” Featured in various Royal Shakespeare Company and East End productions, Krige continued on with supporting roles in films like “Barfly,” (1987), and as the “Borg Queen” in 1996’s “Star Trek: First Contact.” Feature roles in TV shows like “Deadwood” and “Six Feet Under” have swept her to the side, but Krige is a recognizable and respected entertainment presence in South Africa.
Born in Pretoria in 1973, Copley began producing amateur theater and film while still in high school. With his business partner Simon Hansen, he moved to Cape Town and created a production company. He met director Neill Blomkamp, and encouraged his talent and passion for 3D animation and computer graphics. This would lead to the ultimate partnership: the making of the Peter Jackson-produced film “District 9,” which received an Oscar nomination for Best Picture in 2009 and brought Copley’s lead actor face to thousands of cinemas worldwide. Subsequent roles in “The A-Team” (2010) with Liam Neeson and “Maleficent” (2014) with Angelina Jolie have kept up the momentum.
A playwright, actor, and director from New Brighton, East Cape, Bonisile John Kani joined the Serpent Players drama group in 1965, where he met fellow legendary performers Athol Fugard and Winston Ntshona. Their lead performances in the plays “Sizwe Banzi is Dead” and “The Island” addressed trenchantly the apartheid, and when they went to Broadway in 1974 won Kani and Ntshona a shared Best Actor prize for both productions. His 1982 “Miss Julie” performance in Cape Town was the most controversial of his career, a result of him kissing a white woman onstage. Appearing in films like “The Ghost and the Darkness” (1996) and “Coriolanus” (2011), Kani’s big triumph was his first solo playwright production of “Nothing but the Truth.” He has received an Obie Award for superb contribution to American theater.
Born in Soweto, Transvaal, Bonnie Mbuli was discovered by an agent at the age of 13, and was soon starring in the television series “Viva Families.” Her role as Ntombi in the 2005 SABC1 series “Home Affairs” put her in the running for a brilliant career. Then film followed: the 2006 apartheid drama “Catch a Fire” with Derek Luke and Tim Robbins brought her near to top billing. Then there was her role as Zindzi in Clint Eastwood’s 2009 Nelson Mandela-rugby epic “Invictus.” However beautiful and talented Ms. Henna is, she hasn’t risen to a peak of true success for her efforts; her last big appearance was in 2011, as a celebrity contestant on the M-Net reality competition “Survivor South Africa: Maldives.”
Very much an, “Oh, that guy!” kind of actor, Mokoena has appeared in some quite successful South African and international big and small screen productions. From the wildly successful hit television performance as Dr. Mandla Sithole in “Generations,” Mokoena was cast as General Bizimingu in the 2004 award-winning film “Hotel Rwanda.” Alongside Brad Pitt, he played UN Deputy-Secretary General Umutoni in 2013’s “World War Z,” and in the same year followed with a role in “Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom.” It seems that his airplane has lifted off.
Born in Durban to an Indian South African family, Kalyan began with some great theater productions in South Africa, including an adaptation of Charles Dickens’ “Oliver Twist” and one of Salman Rushdie’s novel “The Ground Beneath her Feet.” Moving to London and appearing in BBC series’ like “Holby City” and “Spooks,” he crossed the ocean to play prominent small-screen roles in “Nip/Tuck” and “Rules of Engagement.” Feature film roles in “Up in the Air” (2009), “Youth in Revolt,” (2009), and “No Strings Attached,” (2011), make us wish for a real career boost one day.
Born from Lithuanian Jewish parents in Cape Town, Sher moved to London in the 1960s and joined the Royal Shakespeare Company. He received the Olivier Award for Best Actor for his 1985 performance in “Richard III.” Numerous other Shakespeare productions in England over the years have made him quite a presence in British theater, and he won his second Olivier in 1997’s play “Stanley.” Film roles over the decades include “Yanks” (1979), “Superman II” (1980), and “Shakespeare in Love” (1998). He is also the author of various memoirs and novels and a writer/director of some teleplays and crime documentaries.
Best known for her TV roles in “Yizo Yizo,” “Interrogation Room,” and “The Lab,” Mpumlwana was thanked for her superb contribution by director Gavin Hood when he accepted the Oscar for “Tsotsi,” South Africa’s first win. Audiences were galvanized by her performance and that film, but most likely didn’t remember her tiny roles in other films like “Beyond Borders” (2003) and “Red Dust” (2004). Born in Mthatha, she began as a continuity presenter for SABC1 before moving into roles in miniseries and made-for-TV movies. She won the Golden Horn award for Best Actress at the South African Film and Television Academy awards.
Not so much “unsung” as uncanonized, Suzman was turning heads decades ago. Born in 1939 to a politically affluent Jewish Johannesburg family, she moved to England at the height of apartheid oppression in 1959, joining the Royal Shakespeare Company. Performances in “The War of the Roses” and “Billy Liar” brought audiences to their feet, as did her depictions of many of Shakespeare’s most infamous heroines. Film followed; her role as Empress Alexandra in 1971’s lavish period piece “Nicholas and Alexandra” granted her an Oscar nomination. She never got so famous internationally, but roles in “The Draughtsman’s Contract ” (1982) and “A Dry White Season” (1989) cemented her skills. She has written, directed, and starred in many plays in both South Africa and England over the decades.
