Daniel Hadebe is back with a bang after self-imposed hiatus
|||Daniel Hadebe has to connect with a character before he agrees to a role. Titus in Gold Diggers 2 has sparked his curiosity, writes Debashine Thangevelo
BEING an actor in the industry has its merits and challenges. And there is a sort of unspoken belief that as long as you are a working actor, you will remain relevant.
However, Daniel Hadebe (pictured) doesn’t subscribe to such thinking. He explains: “I choose my roles carefully. I don’t like to be in any and every series just because it’s work. There’s a difference between wanting to be seen and wanting to be sustainable. I’m not a person who wants to be on TV to be relevant. I want to play characters. I’m an artist. If I’m doing something with passion, people start to automatically recognise and respect that.”
And that certainly contextualises his conspicuous absences from the small screen. He registered strongly on viewers’ radars when he joined e.tv’s Scandal as Jay-Jay Zwane. The model-cum-actor then went on to explore different genres. In his career to date, he has bagged roles on 4 Play: Sex Tips for Girls, End Game, Mzansi Love, Room 9, Ses’Top La, Tempy Pushas and The Mating Game. And he was cast as Spikiri in seasons one to three of Umlilo, which centred on polygamy.
Hadebe says: “It was an interesting character to play. And it was a very unique story. We didn’t expect it to be so successful. The cast and the director I had were amazing to work with.
“Spikiri was a very calm guy. He was an investigator who happened to fall in love with his client’s wife. That got him into trouble. But it also helped Dumile find herself and be happy. So he was quite integral to the storyline in that regard,” he explains.
As someone who is discerning about the roles he lends his talent to, he offers: “I’m interested in playing certain characters. Like with Gold Diggers, it was instinctive. I have to connect with the characters and (sort of) finish the producer’s sentences. I have to see where I can take the character.”
And Titus is quite multi-faceted, in that regard. It also explains why the character appealed to Hadebe. He offers: “He is May Gumede’s (played by Tina Jaxa) son, who was presumed to be dead in the first season. Now he’s back. He’s very ruthless. I put a bit of psycho in to him, too.
“He doesn’t believe in failure. He also doesn’t do emotional attachments. He sees women as a weakness.”
Hadebe hints that the latter aspect might change because of a certain someone. But he was keeping mum on who. Now there are several new faces to the cast. However, Titus takes viewers on an emotional roller-coaster ride.
“He is a gold smuggler. Of course, he puts on a facade of having a legitimate business. And he will go to any lengths to deliver. He is also very liked by the community and he provides for certain families,” the actor shares.
Although he has known Jaxa for years, this is the first time they are working together. “She is amazing. And she is so passionate and crazy, too.”
The writers also up the ante in the drama by giving his badass character a rival. Interestingly, he also has bagged the lead role in an upcoming South African movie, titled State Enemy No. 1. It will also have an international release. He says: “It’s a huge movie and I have never played a lead role before. It’s about a notorious guy from my home town – Pretoria. I’m researching that character.”
The premise centres on Collen Chauke, who not only struck terror into the lives of many people, but orchestrated some of South Africa’s most large-scale heists that saw him top the state enemy list.
Gold Diggers 2 airs weekdays on e.tv at 8pm.