From sustaining injuries to isolating himself, Thembinkosi Mthembu goes all-out for the roles he plays

Isolating himself and sustaining injuries are some of the ways Thembinkosi Mthembu pushes the envelope when committing to a character he plays.

When preparing for his role of King Dingiswayo on Mzansi Magic's Shaka iLembe, Thembinkosi says he isolated himself, deleted most of his social media and stayed away from his partner and his family. 

“Shaka was the first project I went full-on. This character is close to my heart. I fell in love with this character. I enjoyed it. I'm grateful we're shooting season 2 soon,” he told TshisaLIVE.

While the fight scene between himself and the villain of the show, Zwide, played by Wiseman Mncube, was choreographed, some of the stunts were real.

“It was so real to the point where we fought, I hurt on my back. When he punched me I fell on my back. I wasn't supposed to fall, but I was selling that punch because I felt like he was feeling it, so I jumped and fell on my back and had pain for about three weeks.”

That was not the only set the actor was injured on. Thembinkosi said he hurt his knee during the filming of Showmax's Adulting.

“Acting is a calling.”  

His character as Bonga on the show also saw him go on dates in Fourways, Johannesburg, with his love interest on the show Londeka Sishi, who plays Nkanyezi.

“For me and her to build chemistry, we had to go on dates because it would read on camera. My partner knew about the dates but doesn't watch my intimacy scenes, she's OK because we started dating when I was doing my third year at DUT, so she knew me from university.”

The devotion to his work can catch up with him at times, however. This year he took a three-month break from acting and attended therapy to debrief from the characters he portrayed.  

He's now set to appear on Showmax's Outlaws.

“I want people to remember me for the work I have done — and those that are close to me should remember me for my heart.”