What do Hotel Rwanda, Invictus, Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom, Cold Harbour, Blood Diamond, Lord of War and The First Grader have in common?
Tony Kgoroge!
Yes, this South African has had his fair share of block-busters, wouldn’t you say?
Perhaps best known to television audiences for his lead roles in the series Gaz’lam (2002-2003) and Zero Tolerance (2004), Tony’s motion picture work includes Justin Chadwick’s The First Grader, Clint Eastwood’s Invictus in a main supporting role of Jason Tshabalala (Mandela’s bodyguard), Anthony Fabian’s Skin, opposite Sophie Okonedo, Blood Diamond, directed by Edward Zwick for Warner Bros.; Lord of War, alongside Nicholas Cage, directed by Andrew Nichols, Terry George’s Hotel Rwanda, alongside Don Cheadle and Sophie Okonedo, Hijack Stories, directed by Oliver Schmidt, and The Bird Can’t Fly, directed by Dutch filmmaker, Threes Anna.
Tony’s vast body of Theatre work includes. Equus; Woza Albert; SeZar (in the lead role of Julius Caezar) at the Oxford Playhouse in the United Kingdom, Die Jogger; Fiddler On The Roof; Mooi Street Moves, and Joseph for P.A.C.T.
Other television series he has acted in include Isidingo, Dark Angels, Deafening Silence, Soul City, Madam and Eve, Homecoming and Life is Wild.
A multilingual who speaks English, Tswana, Afrikaans and SeSotho, Tony received a Vita award for the best upcoming actor in 1997, and was named Best Actor at the Durban International Film Festival in 2014 for his role in Cold Harbour, currently in cinemas; Tony plays ambitious Khayelitsha policeman Sizwe Miya, who uncovers an abalone smuggling scheme while investigating a Triad murder. The role was written especially for him and he does all his own stunts in the film, even taking on former Intercontinental World Muaythai Thai Super middleweight champion Quentin Chong and a German shepherd guard dog in different scenes. Tony shared the prize with Timbuktu star Ibrahim Ahmed.
“The best actor award is shared between an actor who is established and commanding and a newcomer who is unforgettable. Both give soulful and compelling performances and are enviable collaborators with the filmmakers they work with,” said the Durban jury. [filmcontact.com]
As a graduate of the Pretoria Technikon, Tony received a Honourary award from the Pretoria University of Technology.
Brilliant talent, brilliant career, brilliant future; we expect Tony Kgoroge to cart home an Oscar one of this days, just like screen diva, Lupita N’yongo.
