Bonko Khoza opens up about life, fame and the pitfalls of the South African entertainment industry

IOL News

20-06-2025

South African actor Bonko Khoza opens up about fame, financial pitfalls and stresses in the entertainment industry.
Image: Instagram
During a visit to Lungelo KM's "Engineer Your Life" podcast, acclaimed actor Bonko Khoza delved deep into the intricacies of his life, his marriage and the challenges that come with fame.
Khoza is currently the man of the moment on the small screen. He has earned high praise for his leading roles in the history-making Netflix movie, 'Heart of the Hunter' and the hit Showmax series, 'Red Ink' and "The Wife".
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'My heart is good'
During the interview, Khoza reflected on his craft and exposed the harsh realities of the South African entertainment industry.
Khoza began by discussing the awakening he has experienced regarding his personal philosophy.
With a heartfelt message anchored in spirituality, he said: "My heart is good. I've been doing a lot of inner work with myself about the heart in relation to God. That's the heart's function in terms of cleaning out the tunnel between myself and God.
"What I've come to learn, right now as I'm speaking to you, is that it's gratitude in terms of prayer, because it's validation of the present."
Young hustler
Rewinding to his early aspirations, Khoza shared a glimpse of his youthful pursuit of becoming a visual artist. He recalls starting out at an art school and juggling various odd jobs at Makro and Wimpy, as well as bartending.
"I've been working for a long time, making my own pocket money or just cash to buy my own things."
Addressing the sobering reality that many South African actors die broke, Khoza mentioned: 'The South African entertainment industry is no different in appearance or structure than anywhere in the world, but here we have real problems.'
He pointed out that productions are often severely underfunded, leading to compensation that does not reflect the talent and dedication actors bring to their roles.
'I think there is a terrible stigma around producers underpaying people and I might put my head on the chopping block here, but the ecosystem is not that strong,' Khoza stated.
'Most of our legends die broke because, number one, it's not that glamorous, the fees aren't that great, and secondly, we don't have royalties.'
Pay pitfalls
He emphasised that actors remain financially vulnerable due to the nature of their contracts, which are often renewed annually, based on budget constraints.
"At every job, you're just making enough for that job. It's crazy that the perception is that when someone sees you on TV, they think that you're making a crap ton of money, I don't know why human perception is that 'because I am public, I am rich'.
"The people that are successful in the industry, I think have had great ways to manage that money or some kind of support. But if you are surviving purely on acting money, it's hard because you are not guaranteed your next job," he said.
Reflecting on his exit from the popular show, "The Wife", Khoza shared that he does not allow public opinion to dictate his career moves.
"I am never dictated by what other people think, not that I couldn't care less, I love an audience, I went to a theatre school, we engage with the audience, but my art is not measured by how someone else feels.
Being human
"I really try to do what I think is cool and what I think people will appreciate and just take it from there.
"In this life now, the artist can quickly become the art. I am not the art, I am Bonko, I am the artist. Artists were never supposed to be famous. I was never supposed to be famous, I'm a piece of sh**.
"I am not the cool guy, I've never been the cool guy. I'm introspective, I'm poetic, I'm deep, I cry, I am not the architype of a famous person and how that person suppose to engage."
He acknowledged the precarious balance artists must maintain between their professional and personal lives, citing the stressors that arise when one neglects their humanity for the sake of their craft.
"Being human is my job, everytime someone books me, I have to draw from the actual reality of it, and if I haven't lived the actual reality of it, there is nothing to draw from.
"So when I was doing three season of 'The Wife' with barely no time to be human, it became dangerous to say at what point am I going to go back and be human again. And at the same time, the human was starting to go crazy."
Watch the full podcast below.