Lemogang Tsipa was born and raised in the hilly countryside of Empangeni, KwaZulu-Natal (KZN), and appears to be destined for the role of Shaka Zulu.
The 32-year-old actor and musician has a lengthy filmography that includes roles in both local productions such as Felix and international films such as the British thriller Eye in the Sky.
Currently, Lemogang shines as the adult Shaka Zulu in Mzansi Magic’s Shaka iLembe, officially cementing his place in history alongside acting legends such as Henry Cele, who first played the Zulu king in the 1986 television series.
While Lemogang’s strong features and intense onscreen presence brings to life such an important historical figure, his warm and kind demeanour in real life makes him that much more likable.
With more than 10 years of acting credits under his belt, Lemogang takes us back to his early days of venturing into the industry.
“I graduated in 2012 from AFDA and since then have just been clawing my way in the industry working on international and local work trying to just make sure that I’m part and parcel with some of the best projects I could align myself with and, yeah, my career has turned out not too shabby.”
Born to a Pedi father and a Tswana mother who met during their tertiary schooling days at the University of Zululand, the thespian knows only KZN and is surrounded by isiZulu.
Lemogang’s first appearance in Shaka iLembe came in episode eight where the actor deliberately chose to portray the historical figure in a more humanised manner.
“For us, we try to just make sure to be honest to the character and the way in which I approached it was in a reimagined way. I didn’t want to bring a performance that’s similar to what we all know and love from the great Henry Cele.
This vulnerability in Lemogang’s performance is heightened not only by the cold weather conditions of Krugersdorp’s Greater Cradle Nature Reserve, but also by Ntando Zondi’s unwavering portrayal of the young king.
“The first time I saw him and got to interact with him was at, I think, the second stage of the callback when they were starting to pair people to see who could work with him. And I remember in that break stumbling onto him on the roof terrace … and he’s just got this extreme kind of serious sincerity about him and just had this air of maturity and in that moment, I could tell that nah, this is the guy.
With his on-screen performances, his creative juices don’t stop flowing. He’s also a talented musician looking to relaunch his career.
“My musical journey began with me playing drums, which I’ve kept up with over the years.” When I was still in Cape Town, I was in a few bands and we did a lot of things, like play at Rocking the Daisies and other festivals.
“There you have it; I play drums on the side.” “I also play bass guitar and am currently teaching myself guitar and keyboard,” he reveals.
