Bafana Bafana legendary striker Siyabonga Nomvethe is said to landed a major acting role on a popular South African soapie.
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The story
The PSL's all-time top goal scorer and Bafana Bafana legend, Siyabonga "Bhele" Nomvethe, is set for a rather surprising new role in front of the camera.
Nomvethe is will be stepping into the cast of hit SABC 1 soapie, "Uzalo" according to the Daily Sun, with their Insiders confirming that the 46-year-old has signed a contract, promising that he'll soon grace Mzansi's TV screens.
The former journey-man striker's role on the show will reportedly be for a year and he is set to collaborate with one of the main characters, Njinji (played by Thembi Nyandeni), in running her football team.
An unnamed actor on the show told Daily Sun that they taken by surprise in seeing the former Orlando Pirates, AmaZulu, Udinese, and Aalborg star on set recently:
"We were all shocked when we saw Nomvethe on set. We didn't know he was joining us. At first, when we saw him in the studio, we thought he was visiting someone. The next thing, he was in front of cameras, shooting some of the scenes.
"We were stunned. Working alongside a global legend like him is truly remarkable," said the actor.
Bhele is from KwaMashu, where the show set and filmed mainly, making him the ideal person to join the show's new soccer story line that will hit screens sooner rather than later.
Last year, Bhele was given props by award-winning South African actress, Nomzamo Mbatha for being a "tangible inspiration" for her growing up in KwaMashu.
"It's so important to be a tangible representation of a dream realised. I am not a fan of anyone in 2023 who says I grew up not seeing it because you are disrespecting those who came before you and showed you it was possible.
"I saw it. Do you know where I saw it? Siyabonga Nomvethe. One of the best football players in this country who went on to play in Europe and all over the world and he was for C-Section, KwaMashu. That man is one of the people who showed me, and one of the people who was tangible, who would drive his car and park it by his mother's house," she said in a video that went viral on social media.
As an inspirational figure in KwaMashu and Durban as a whole, it's quite fitting for Bhele to appear on one of Mzansi' most watched shows that magnifies the realities of the people that reside where he grew up.
With this move into acting for "Uzalo" it might put Nomvethe's coaching ambitions to a halt after he last worked with his former club AmaZulu at senior level and the Diski Challenge team.
Nomvethe is not the only former South African footballer who is dabbling with acting as many footballers often find themselves in the acting world.
Brighton Mhlongo is on the football-inspired Mzansi Magic show, "Champions", and it sees the two of them join a long list of footballers who have found themselves on a set of a film or a tv series.
Arsenal legend, Ian Wright made an appearance in Daniel Kaluuya's dystopian Netlfix drama, "The Kitchen; Manchester United legends David Beckham starred in Guy Ritchie's "King Arthur"; Eric Cantona made his way into the acting world after retiring early from football and has featured on Netflix's "AKA" and four other major films including; 2009's "Looking For Eric."
Former defensive hard man Vinnie Jones made a more smooth transition into acting after football and has secured some major roles in the X-Men franchise, Guy Ritchie films, "Snatch" and "The Gentleman," as well as classic films; "Mean Machine" and "Gone In 60 Seconds."
Former Liverpool star Stan Collymore is another one who has tried out acting, with Swedish football icon Zlatan Ibrahimovic and Brazilian superstar, Neymar Jr. have also made forays into the movie business.
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