By Minenhle Zikhali
After a four-year hiatus, Mduduzi Mabaso, best known as Suffocate Ndlovu on soap opera Rhythm City, has joined the Season 4 of e.tv’s House of Zwide.
He returns as Msizi Shange, the brother of Faith Zwide (Winnie Ntshaba). Rhythm City’s last episode aired four years ago. About his return to e.tv, he said: “It feels like home. I mean it is also a challenge because when people think of me and e.tv, they automatically think of Suffocate.”
Mabaso said that he is always looking for a character that he has never portrayed before, focusing on characteristics, nuances and background that he has never portrayed previously. He said: ”This sounded interesting on paper, so I wanted to see what I could do with the character and working with a team that I haven’t worked with before is also a drawcard.”
About the character, Mabaso said: “He is very mysterious and has had an interesting life away from his family. He gets into trouble with the law from time to time, but he is a hustler. He is not necessarily a bad guy, but he is working on changing some aspects of his life.”
On the preparations for the role, he said that learning how to ride a motorbike is the one thing that stood out for him. ”I wouldn’t say that it was easy because I had to familiarise myself with riding a motorbike. Sometimes the preparation begins when you are familiar with the people that you are going to interact with on the set every day and once you get to know the character, it develops gradually.”
Mabaso added that acting is not just a career or job for him, but a calling and through the character of Msizi, he hopes to inspire others to overcome any challenge they may be facing in their lives.
