His breakout role as Nkosi in etv’s House of Zwide has made Wanda Zuma a force to be reckoned with in showbiz – and he has no plans of slowing down, in fact, he wants to explore more avenues within the industry.
We are chatting to him all the way from Port Elizabeth and he sounds animated when he chats to Drum about how he got into acting, handling fame, his future plans and more. “Acting is something I’ve always wanted to do. I got nudged into it when I attended a workshop where we did one of Shakespeare’s plays,” he tells us.
Although he is also infront of the camera, he also makes people famous through an agency he works for. “I work as a talent scout for a casting agency, so when companies are searching for talent, I look at the brief and check who fits the profile. It’s not east to juggle that and being on a telenovela full time, it can be daunting,” the heartthrob says.
breakout star Wanda Zuma on his role in House of Zwide
He reveals that having experienced how it feels to unearth new talent, one of his future plans include starting his own casting agency. He quips: “I’ was given an opportunity at Imbewu to work as a cast co-ordinator, so that experience gave me the passion I have for this. So, I’d definitely like to start my own agency, especially with the experience I have amassed thus far and I also want to delve into producing work for the channel.”
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Being on a show that has more than 4 million viewers is no walk in the park and Wanda knows this from experience. “Being in such a big telenovela is difficult and time consuming, because it needs you be the character more often you’d like, but those tare the drawbacks of being in a telenovela.
Also, being in such a hit show attracts attention, which means one has to handle fame and all that it comes with. “He asserts: “Fame handles me, I don’t handle it. I’m just grateful that I get to do what I love. I also appreciate the love thay I get from the show’s ardent viewers”.