The first time Theo Bongani Ndyalvane tried to re-enact a film he had seen as an eight-year-old boy, his older brother dismissed him, insisting that was not how the story went.
But his mother saw something different.
“She told him to stop, looked at me and held my hand and said, ‘Don’t listen to him, you are going to be a great storyteller, wena mntanam.
“When you tell stories, you tell them so well and so passionately,’” Ndyalvane said.
Years later, that childhood encouragement has carried him onto the global stage.
Now 40, the actor — who grew up in Bhisho and Oxton village outside Komani — has shared the screen with some of Hollywood’s biggest names, including Viola Davis, Cate Blanchett, Ben Affleck, Amy Adams and Henry Cavill.
“From the first moment I saw a TV screen, I fell in love with acting,” he said.
He recalls one of the first films he watched, Inyakanyaka, which sparked his imagination, followed by the American Ninja franchise, which inspired his interest in martial arts.
With having grown up in small towns and villages, however, opportunities were limited.
There were no theatres or formal creative spaces, so he turned to school and church plays to develop his craft.
An older family friend also introduced him to karate — something he once believed would help him become an action star.
Ndyalvane’s path to acting was not immediate.
After matriculating from ZK Matthews Senior Secondary School, he enrolled at the University of the Western Cape, where he completed a degree in linguistics and English.
He then began taking acting courses in Cape Town and Johannesburg, gradually building his skills and exposure.
“Subsequently, I was introduced to a variety of movies and shows, my favourite actors being Denzel Washington, Viola Davis, and Will Smith,” he said.
After early roles in local productions such as Backstage and 7de Laan, he made the decision to pursue opportunities in the US.
Rather than moving directly to Los Angeles, he settled in New Mexico, where he continued training, working with acting coaches and building his résumé through theatre productions and short films.
His persistence paid off in 2012 when he landed a role in Voyage of Time, directed by Terrence Malick.
He later appeared in Batman v Superman, where he worked alongside Affleck, Cavill and Adams.
“When I finally made the move to Hollywood in 2016, I had already had a few premieres,” he said.
When I am not on a project, I am learning skills that will better me as a human, as an artist and as a man
— Theo Bongani Ndyalvane, actor
More recently, he has appeared in the Apple TV series Imperfect Women, alongside Kerry Washington, and the film G20, where he worked closely with Viola Davis.
“There’s a reason why Davis is the most awarded black female actor of all time,” he said.
“She is a force of nature, a master of her craft and a very commanding presence.
“Yet she is so kind, so gentle and generous as a person as well as a scene partner.”
He said working with established actors was both inspiring and grounding.
Despite their global stature, he said, they treated him as an equal on set.
In G20, a political action thriller set during a global summit of world leaders, Ndyalvane plays a highly trained security operative caught in a co-ordinated attack.
While international recognition has followed, he said awards were not his primary motivation.
Though he would welcome the opportunity to win an Oscar one day, he remains focused on growth and purpose.
“It is not my driving force or something I concern myself about.
“I am chasing purpose, doing my absolute best at any given moment,” he said.
“When I am not on a project, I am learning skills that will better me as a human, as an artist and as a man.”
Daily Dispatch
