Matthew Rantsoma is a 30-year-old South African actor well known for playing Nhlamulo on Scandal. Meet the Kasi Shakespeare and get to know his biography.
Known as Nhlamulo or the Kasi Shakespeare from etvScandal. Matthews Rantsoma was born and bred in Tembisa.
Matthews is known for his major role on scandal as Nhlamulo a kasi forex trader who is kind and caring, he goes by the nickname kasi Shakespeare on the show. However, Matthews came a long way to be where he is now.
Matthews is mostly known for his theater acting and production. He has made theatrical plays from Ngale Kwendu(2018) to Center of the less good idea season 7(2020). Rantsoma has performed and produced theatrical plays since he was in high school. He started theatrical acting in Grade 10 but only started going big later on in his life. Matthews is a very passionate actor, very creative,, and was the Naledi Award Winner of 2019.
Rantsoma has also appeared on Mzansi Magic’s Gomora and Tvc KFC(2019). In a discussion with IOL Matthews talks about his role on Scandal and the idea around the forex trading industry. He talked about how the industry is highly misunderstood and how that may cloud us from seeing it for its true potential whether good or bad.
Matthews also discussed the role of Nhlamulo and the type of person he is, he said that Nhlamulo was a kind and caring Kasi forex trader who knows Kasi like the Palm of his hand. To top that, Matthews shed some light on how he prepared for his role. It took him a lot of research on the Kasi language and its origins to fully blend into the role. However, he was able to get help from his theatre team, directors, teachers and writers. Thus was able to get a good grasp of it. He got help from the likes of Jefferson Tshabalala and Themba Mkhoma His fluency as a result of the research earned him a lot of acknowledgements and love across social media.
In an interview with Kabelo Sir Gift from SirGift Media Productions, he expressed his views of success and how Chris Hanni changed his view of success from a “selfish” definition to a more “inclusive” definition. In his own words, he said, “Success is when everyone else around you is successful”. The rising star performed a play called Hanni the Legacy, for which he had to research quite a lot about Chris Hanni. He worked closely with Leila Henriques on so many projects and has also worked with Linda Tshabalala and Jefferson Tshabalala
Matthew Rantsoma also revealed that he has knowledge in IT, coding, and software. He took a few courses, and it really helps him a lot with his character on screen, even in real life.
“I have done research in the IT department, and I am starting to learn coding and computing on my own until I start to do online courses. I’m not a guru right now, but I’m getting there.”
Matthews talked about the conflict between passion and benefit and to take care of yourself in the industry. He argued that even if we are passionate but we must not work for free. He said that the new generation must be bold enough to ask the question of “how much am I getting for this?”. As he says, most youngsters are selling themselves short and not getting paid for their art and talent
Matthews’ acting ethics include a few limitations. In an interview with SirGift, he stated that he will never portray the character of a homosexual, although he clarified that this is not due to prejudice or hate. It was entirely due to the emotional difficulties involved:
“Because of the emotional baggage that it comes with,.. I would never be able to play homos.exual…. and purely because of the emotional baggage it comes with. Because you must understand, every character comes with its own thought processes and I’m very technical about that, I want to understand what the character is thinking. So I’m afraid that once I’m in I might not get out…” -Matthews Rantsoma in an interview with SirGift
Rantsoma supports local music like as Kwaito and says that Kwaito Stars are not being recognized and celebrated for their efforts. He stated that he would watch YouTube videos on a regular basis to better understand local music and artists. He is a rising star and a creative actor who approaches the profession in a variety of ways. Matthews is undoubtedly on the rise and will have a significant impact in the industry.
