Gomora star Sicelo Buthelezi joined the cast of Podcast And Chill and they unpacked everything from his childhood, to his acting career as well as his music career as an Amapiano artist. One takeaway from the highly appreciated interviews, was the expose he did on the treatment of artists, especially the legendary Zolisa Xaluva.
When Mzansi Magic's Gomora debuted, we were introduced to amazing talent from Sicelo Buthelezi and many other new talented actors. He even won his first award at the Royalty Soapie Award for his role as Teddy from the drama series. He took home the award for Outstanding Newcomer.
Guys!! π umngan wam uwine iaward! β¨πΎ @seekay_sa Youβre probably sick of me saying this now oksalayo Iβm so proud of you! You are so deserving! Congratulations Pendergrass wabantwana! ππ pic.twitter.com/zNrKwZuLLC
β πΊπππππππππ π΅π πππ π (@ceecee_ndaba) September 26, 2020
He had an interview with MacG and the team and he had the guts to speak on the negative things actors are subjected to in the entertainment industry.
MacG asked Sicelo about his mental health and how he is doing and he said recent events forced him to do some self introspection. He said amongst his peers things are not looking too good as young people are depressed.
MacG wanted to know who does he confide in or turn to when things get tough and he said his mother and his girlfriend. When asked does he not have any industry friends he said he is friends with Ntando Duma.
But, the podcaster wanted to know if he is close to any of the actors on set and then mentioned Zolisa Xaluva if he feels threatened by him as he is a new actor. Sicelo said, "No, but not unless they have insecurities within themselves. Zolisa knows that he is good, he does not need to block [me.]"
"He's been in the game for like 20 years so what's a guy with like theatre background right now, what is he going to do to him."
He said the role of actors like Zolisa who are OG's is to plant a seed and help young stars change the way things are in the industry.
When asked what would he like to see change, Sicelo said he wishes production houses would stop seeing actors as activists and just allow them to do their jobs.
"Let actors be actors, right now you're forcing them to be activists. Actors are the ones who talk for themselves."
He then spoke up for Zolisa and how he is "mistreated" at productions by not respecting his time and efforts. He explained what he meant by that and said Zolisa would sometimes stay long hours on sets only for his turn to shoot to come hours later, or not even shoot at all.
"You can't have him stay on set for 4 hours before he shoots his scene. He needs to shoot his scene, go and rest. He's been in the game for 20 years."
Ghost Lady asked him if that happens on Gomora as well but he reluctantly said he hopes he does not lose his job, but he said there are some politics on the show.
When pressed to explain what he meant, Sicelo said writers run the show. He said this when explaining the shooting structure, citing that Gomora shoots 260 episodes for a whole season and writers are given a certain amount of episodes and that determines their pay. He then said writers determine how long an actor will last based on what they write which structures the entire show.
"In your mid you're thinking I have 12 months to do my job, but the writer will be like 'Sol you spoke sh*t about me on Podcast And Chill, I am going to kill your character.'"
Sicelo revealed he was also on the brink of quitting because there were lies spread about him for being a diva. Which he flatly denied.
Sicelo then said the cast members in Gomora are the best ever and they are a family who does not fall for the divide and conquer strategy.
