A familiar face was spotted amongst the Faculty of Arts and Design students who were graduating at the Durban University of Technology (DUT) Autumn Graduation ceremony which was held at the Olive Convention Centre in Durban on Tuesday evening (30 May 2023).
It was Othembele Nomgca who plays Bobo on South Africa’s most viewed telenovela, Uzalo, which is aired on SABC 1 from Monday to Friday at 20h30. He was awarded his Postgraduate Diploma in Drama and Production Studies. Nomgca (22) is from Bhungeni village at Flagstaff, Eastern Cape.
He is currently playing on 1Magic’s (DStv channel 103) new series called 1802: Love Defies Time which started being aired on Monday, 1 May 2023. The series plays from Monday to Wednesday at 20h30.
Speaking on his journey at DUT Nomgca said: “It has been a tough journey, from obtaining my first qualification, a Diploma in Drama and Production Studies. When I joined DUT, I was still a young man coming from the rural areas to the big city. It was a big challenge, trying to discipline myself. I used to constantly remind myself what I wanted in life. When I got what I wanted initially, I didn’t stop there, I kept trying to get even more.”
According to Nomgca, his love for acting comes from home, being raised by his parents who are artists as well. In acting, he said he did not know there was more to it like directing and being behind the scenes.
Giving insight on how he got to act on Uzalo, Nomgca said he went to an audition in 2020 while he was still studying at DUT.
“After the audition, to my surprise I got the role. It was a small role at first, however they liked my Xhosa accent and requested that I come back for more shoots, that is how I got it. I am currently not shooting for Uzalo for some time, but I am on a new show called 1802 by Lulu Hela, it is shot in Johannesburg. It is more about the IsiXhosa culture. I play the role of Qondile, a guard for the Prince, we are led by a good superstar called Prince Ntuthuzelo Grootboom. I play alongside Siyambonga Mdubeki who is from a rural area in Mount Ayliff, and we have such a great, strong relationship. Just being on set together, both from the rural areas,” explained Nomgca.
He was excited to obtain his second qualification as he feels that passion alone will not get artists very far in life. Nomgca indicated that artists are often stereotyped to be lazy people and he wants to shy away from such comments. He plans to do more than just being an actor, with his interest in writing, producing and create more job opportunities.
“For me also personally, it isn’t just a hobo, it’s a career. This is my life, this is what puts food on my table. I felt like I should do the right thing and further my studies because no one can be a professional without acquiring the necessary education for it. We have to respect the art, so I am putting a price on it. You have to have a certificate that you can be proud of and know you have worked hard to attain it,” said Nomgca.
What made his graduation even more exciting was that thefirst time he didn’t get to attend a physical graduation since it was during COVID-19. Nomgca said he finally got a chance to walk the graduation stage, and it was a nice experience for him and his family.
He thanked his family who came all the way to support and share his big day with him.
Pictured: Othembele Nomgca who plays Bobo on Uzalo.
Simangele Zuma
