Mangaliso Ngema certainly has a way with women. Just look how he wooed Rhythm City's gospel diva, Rachel Phakati, as the con artist Pastor Abel Ngidi.
With that love story killed, Ngema has adopted a new soap identity as Scandal's Zwelakhe, a National Intelligence agent who worked with Morongwe, whom he had an affair with, and Alex.
So what's on his agenda this time around?
"Zwelakhe is the kind of guy who will play any day. But he is willing to change for a chance with Mo'," Ngema says.
On landing the role, Ngema says: "They (Scandal) called my agent and asked me to come in for an audition. The primary motivator for any actor is the money. Unlike in the US, South African actors don't have the luxury of being picky about their roles. The paradox is that great actors will say there are no small parts, only small actors."
As for working on SABC1's hit local series, Tshisa, Ngema explains: "We shot the second season last year. But I left the show due to exploitative issues - I insisted that I wasn't going to work for the kind of money I was being offered."
Several years in the entertainment industry have schooled him well.
"I remember a Sunday newspaper writing a nasty article about me. I was upset and told Friederich Stark (director of Generations) that if that reporter crossed my path, I'd He, in turn, pointed out that there is no such thing as bad publicity," he recalls.
Ngema, who will soon release a debut solo album called AbaseNgweni - Songs of Mangaliso - Chapter 1, says there is scope for his character to return on a more permanent basis.
Until then, the former Generations actor (he played Lunga Zondo) is being kept busy on the set of 7de Laan.
He, along with Muvhango's Florence Masebe, joined the soap as the parents of Alice.
"At the beginning it was a bit of a culture shock. They (the writers) are looking at growing this black family in the storyline. The soap operates on a totally different system to the soaps I have been on. I initially found it cumbersome, but that has since changed," Ngema shares.