Thembinkosi Mthembu: From DUT student to one of SA's leading men on screen

The Citizen

09-05-2025

'I used to dream and say that I wish to get to where I am, but I never expected it would happen so fast,' said Mthembu.
Ten years ago, Thembinkosi Mthembu was still based in KwaZulu-Natal, completing his Drama and Production Diploma at the Durban University of Technology (DUT).
Mthembu recalls murmurs that there will be auditions for a TV series on a historical figure, Shaka Zulu.
'Watching iSibaya, knowing that there will be auditions [for Shaka iLembe], you know obviously that you're not gonna be part of it because you're still a student and my parents won't allow me to go to Joburg and go shoot-it was never gonna happen because I know how strict they are at home,' Mthembu tells The Citizen.
However, it did happen. Mthembu is one of the leading characters in the TV series, and it returns to screens for a second season next month.
He portrays the character of King Dingiswayo (formerly Godongwana kaJobe).
'I didn't think that, at this time, I'd be part of uShaka [iLembe] because the conversation about being on Shaka started when I was doing my first year at DUT.'
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Thembinkosi the leading man
Today, at 30 years old, Mthembu is one of the country's most in-demand leading men on screen.
In a short time, Mthembu has played some of the most memorable characters on screen in recent times.
From being the villainous Mabutho Dimba on The River, to being the young married Bandile Biyela on Outlaws, who is a womaniser, to portraying the high-achieving corporate maverick Bonga Tembe on Adulting, his catalogue is thicker than his years in the industry suggest.
'Fast-forward to now… I always say that I'm grateful. I used to dream and say that I wish to get to where I am, but I never expected it would happen so fast.'
The multi-award winner says he had given himself at least 10 to 15 years to reach the heights he's already reached.
'It's not of my own doing…it's my family, my ancestors and my God. I also think the productions that I've worked with as well,' he says.
He says being involved in the TV series The Republic, produced by Tshedza Pictures, was his big break. 'I've done five shows with Tshedza [Pictures]. It was a blessing to meet them,' he shares.
Mthembu said that from the one audition he did with Tshedza for his role as Junior on The Republic, other doors opened.
'I auditioned for that character, and they gave me other characters because it was easier because I've worked with them.'
Tshedza has produced three of Mthembu's most significant works: The River, The Republic and Adulting.
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Being on Shaka iLembe
Shaka iLembe is produced by The Bomb Shelter, and he says working with them,too, has been a joy.
He portrays King Dingiswayo (formerly Godongwana kaJobe), who played a crucial role in Shaka Zulu's life as a mentor and a respectable male figure.
Mthembu says portraying himself as a revered monarch made him look at himself as a man and a role model to others.
'It made me look at myself and ask if I'm actually like this, maybe towards my friends…because it's hard to say if I'm like that [a role model figure] as I'm the last born at home. I'll see when my nieces, nephews and my own children are older, if I can be that sort of role model.'
Shaka iLembe ignited a sense of pride among Africans, such that after each episode the show would trend and people from other ethnic groups would ask wonder about when whether stories of their own people be told on screen.
Mthembu says all ethnic groups' stories must be told.
'We want stories about the BaPedi or other tribes because at the end, I don't only want to learn about Shaka Zulu. Even my child has to learn about the Xhosa people.
My wife is Xhosa, so I would like for a show about Xhosas, about the Pedi, the Venda people, Tsonga…because it's beautiful to watch,' Mthembu shared.
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