Wiseman Zitha goes from Giyani to Venda in new role on 'Muvhango'

Not many actors are able to walk off one production set and straight into another, but that’s exactly what happened for actor and model Wiseman Zitha. 

Zitha first appeared on our screens as Musa Baloyi on SABC2’s groundbreaking Xitsonga drama series, "Giyani: Land of Blood". Season one ended in November last year and as soon as Zitha was done with his scenes, he started filming Muvhango. 

Zitha joins the popular soapie as Ndemedzo, a farmworker in Thathe. 

Speaking on how he got the role, Zitha said, “towards the end of last year, I got a call from my agent about an audition. I went for it and a week later I got a call later saying I got the part and I started shooting almost immediately”. 

Speaking on his character, he said that Ndemedzo was initially supposed to be 35 years old. 

“I do not look 35 so they changed his age. He is a village boy from Venda. He is a farmworker and appears as a regular worker but he is actually a leader among his colleagues. He stands by his word and as much as he wants money, it does not control his actions. He stands by his community”, Zitha said. 

View this post on Instagram

🚨🚨NEW ROLE ALERT🚨🚨 There’s a new kid in the VENDA community.✨✨ NDEMEDZO will be making his debut on MUVHANGO Tomorrow 21:00 on SABC 2.... “he’s a proud venda man , hardworker and most importantly a leader “....😉😉 tune in tomorrow and tell me what you think of him 💝

A post shared by Wiseman Zither(@wisemanzither) on Apr 12, 2020 at 3:21am PDT

The young actor said he was attracted to the character because of the vast differences and similarities between them. 

“I find him very interesting. He is very different from my previous character, Musa and he is very different from me. I saw this character as a challenge and an opportunity to grow as an actor. However, he is just like me, like him I grew up in Venda and in terms of our morals we have the same”. 

He added that so far he was enjoying the characters range. “He has a range of moods and that’s not in a bad way. He is very expressive so one moment he can be humble the next he is angry than sad and with him, I really have to stretch myself to make sure I play him properly. 

There isn’t anything I don’t like about him but I do find the language challenging. On a show like Muvhango you need to speak really deep Venda so that’s a challenge but I am enjoying it”.