AWARD-winning South African actor Presley Chweneyagae died on Tuesday morning, according to a statement released by the actor’s talent agency, MLA.
Chweneyagae rose to stardom in his breakout role as ‘Tsotsi‘ in the titular film, where he played the lead, David/Tsotsi (meaning “criminal” in South African Tsotsitaal slang), a young street thug who steals a car only to discover a baby in the back seat. He starred alongside actress Terry Pheto, and the pair was praised for their roles in the film along with the director, Gavin Hood.
The film won the Best International Feature Film at the 2006 Academy Awards and was nominated for the Golden Globe for Best Foreign Language Film, becoming the first South African film and first African film not made in French to win in the former category.
Chweneyagae’s success continued with him cast in greater roles in South African films like iNumber Number, Jozi Gold, More Than Just A Game, Africa United, and State of Violence.
Not one to shy away from any format of actor, Chweneyagae ventured into television on The River, an award-winning telenovela that led to a spin-off show on Chweneyagae’s character, Thuso “Cobra” Mokoena, called Cobrizi.
Not shying away from the theatre stage, Chweneyagae’s credits extended to roles in the plays Hamlet, A Midsummer’s Night Dream, Dikeledi (an adaptation of Electra), Kalushi (a play on the late activist Solomon Mahlangu), and more. He also ventured into theatrical production with the highly acclaimed play, Relativity, which he co-wrote and directed with playwright Mpumelelo Paul Grootboom.
Born on October 19, 1984, the thespian bug bit Chweneyagae when he was ten years old, and he began participating in community plays in the North West province before he moved to study and graduate from institutions including the National School of the Arts, the Market Theatre Laboratory, and the Artist Proof Studio before he launched his professional career.
The actor long championed the rights of South African actors and the greater film industry, with local storytelling and talent development being supported through his role as a long-standing ambassador and contributor. His contribution to South African film and television was widely recognised, and his work continues to be celebrated across the industry.
