Atandwa Kani (born 6 June 1984) is a South African actor. He is the son of actor

John Kani Bonisile John Kani (born 30 August 1943) is a South African actor, author, director and playwright. He is known for portraying T'Chaka in the Marvel Cinematic Universe films '' Captain America: Civil War'' (2016) and ''Black Panther'' (2018), Ra ...

Early life

Kani was born on 6 June 1984 in

Port Elizabeth Gqeberha (), formerly Port Elizabeth and colloquially often referred to as P.E., is a major seaport and the most populous city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality, Sou ...

Eastern Cape The Eastern Cape is one of the provinces of South Africa. Its capital is Bhisho, but its two largest cities are East London and Gqeberha. The second largest province in the country (at 168,966 km2) after Northern Cape, it was formed in ...

. He was exposed to the entertainment industry at a young age by observing and learning from his father, who studied scripts for his own acting roles and took his son to theatre performances. These experiences influenced him to follow in his father's footsteps. He was educated at the

University of Witwatersrand The University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg (), is a multi-campus South African public research university situated in the northern areas of central Johannesburg. It is more commonly known as Wits University or Wits ( or ). The university ...

(Wits), where he studied theatre performance and participated in school productions. He graduated in 2008, with an Honours degree in theatrical performance. In 2019, Kani was completing a MFA in Acting at New York University's

Tisch School of the Arts The New York University Tisch School of the Arts (commonly referred to as Tisch) is the performing, cinematic and media arts school of New York University. Founded on August 17, 1965, Tisch is a training ground for artists, scholars of the a ...

Career

Kani made his international stage debut in '' The Tempest'', a collaboration between the

Baxter Theatre Centre The Baxter Theatre Centre is a performing arts complex in Rondebosch, a suburb of Cape Town, South Africa. The Baxter, as it is often known, is part of the University of Cape Town; it is also the second largest performing arts complex in Cape ...

and the

Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and produces around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, St ...

, where he played

Ariel Ariel may refer to: Film and television *Ariel Award, a Mexican Academy of Film award * ''Ariel'' (film), a 1988 Finnish film by Aki Kaurismäki * ''ARIEL Visual'' and ''ARIEL Deluxe'', 1989 and 1991 anime video series based on the novel series ...

alongside his father (

Caliban Caliban ( ), son of the witch Sycorax, is an important character in William Shakespeare's play '' The Tempest''. His character is one of the few Shakespearean figures to take on a life of its own "outside" Shakespeare's own work: as Russell ...

) and

Sir Antony Sher Sir Antony Sher (14 June 1949 – 2 December 2021) was a British actor, writer and theatre director of South African origin. A two-time Laurence Olivier Award winner and a four-time nominee, he joined the Royal Shakespeare Company in 1982 a ...

(

Prospero Prospero ( ) is a fictional character and the protagonist of William Shakespeare's play '' The Tempest''. Prospero is the rightful Duke of Milan, whose usurping brother, Antonio, had put him (with his three-year-old daughter, Miranda) to sea ...

). One reviewer described him as "the star of this production...he was a true pleasure to watch, embodying the character and interacting beautifully with the rest of the cast". Sean Hewitt of the

Nottingham Nottingham ( , East Midlands English, locally ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city and Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east ...

news site, ''

Nottingham Post The ''Nottingham Post'' (formerly the ''Nottingham Evening Post'') is an English tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper which serves Nottingham, Nottinghamshire and parts of Derbyshire, Leicestershire and Lincolnshire. The ''Post'' is p ...

'', wrote "....scene-stealing Atandwa Kani, the best Ariel I've ever seen". In 2009, Kani made his

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

television debut in the

CW Television Network CW may stand for: Science and technology * centiwatt (cW), one hundredth of a watt * Cω, a programming language * CW complex, a type of topological space * Carrier wave, in radio communications * CodeWarrior, an integrated development environme ...

program ''

Life Is Wild ''Life Is Wild'' is an American serial drama television series adapted by Michael Rauch, George Faber and Charlie Pattinson from the British drama '' Wild at Heart''. The show is about a New York veterinarian who moves his second wife and their ...

'', an American adaptation of the hugely popular

ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, consisting of: ** ITV (TV network), a free-to-air national commercial television network covering the United Kingdom, the Isle of Man, and the Channel Islan ...

family drama '' Wild at Heart'' that aired in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...

from 2006 until 2012. The American adaptation was commissioned for only one season, but from 2010 to 2012, Kani played the role of Thabo in series 5 and 6, plus a brief appearance in series 7, of the original British ''Wild at Heart'', starring

Stephen Tompkinson Stephen Phillip Tompkinson (born 15 October 1965) is an English actor, known for his television roles as Marcus in '' Chancer '' (1990), Damien Day in ''Drop the Dead Donkey'' (1990–1998), Father Peter Clifford in ''Ballykissangel'' (1996–9 ...

and

Dawn Steele Dawn Steele (born 11 December 1975) is a Scottish actress best known for her portrayals of the characters Alexandra “Lexie” MacDonald from the BBC drama '' Monarch of the Glen'', Alice Trevanion in the ITV drama series '' Wild at Heart'' a ...

. In 2009, Kani performed in two new plays, ''Hayani'' and ''ID Pending'', which explore ideas of home and identity for young South Africans in different ways. Together with fellow actor and Wits graduate Nat Ramabulana, and directed by Warren Nebe, they premiered the productions at the

Grahamstown Makhanda, also known as Grahamstown, is a town of about 140,000 people in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is situated about northeast of Port Elizabeth and southwest of East London, Eastern Cape, East London. Makhanda is the lar ...

National Arts Festival. Kani has been featured in the ''TrueLove'' magazine in the first of its ''In Bed With...'' features. In 2010, he was a regular in the

SABC The South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) is the public broadcaster in South Africa, and provides 19 radio stations ( AM/ FM) as well as six television broadcasts to the general public. It is one of the largest of South Africa's state ...

TV series ''Soul Buddyz''. In 2011, he became a regular on the SABC 2 political series, ''90 Plein Street'' in its third season, directed by Khalo Matabane. He also served as Master of Ceremonies for the 46664 "Legacy" Bangle, alongside

Tokyo Sexwale Mosima Gabriel "Tokyo" Sexwale (; born 5 March 1953) is a South African businessman, politician, anti-apartheid activist, and former political prisoner. Sexwale was imprisoned on Robben Island for his anti-apartheid activities, alongside figur ...

and Hlubi Mboya. He then went on to play the young

Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (; ; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist who served as the President of South Africa, first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1 ...

in the movie '' Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom'', directed by

Justin Chadwick Justin Chadwick (born 6 December 1968) is an English actor and television and film director. He directed episodes of ''EastEnders'', ''Byker Grove'', ''The Bill'', '' Spooks'' and '' Red Cap'' before directing nine of the fifteen episodes of t ...

, acting alongside

Idris Elba Idrissa Akuna Elba (; born 6 September 1972) is an English actor.

Naomie Harris Naomie Melanie Harris (born 6 September 1976) is a British actress. She started her career when she was a child, appearing in the television series ''Simon and the Witch'' in 1987. She portrayed Selena in the zombie film ''28 Days Later'' (2002 ...

and

Terry Pheto Moitheri Pheto (born 11 May 1981) is a South African actress who is known for starring in an Oscar-winning film ''Tsotsi'' (2005) and other South African soapies. She had a recurring role of a heart surgeon, Dr. Malaika Maponya, on the America ...

. Kani went on to appear as the lead on ''Kowethu'', a SABC 1 drama directed by Rolie Nikiwe. After which he was seen in the international

BET Black Entertainment Television (acronym BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting African-American audiences. It is owned by the CBS Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global via BET Networks and has offices in New York City, Los A ...

series '' The Book of Negroes'' alongside

Cuba Gooding Jr. Cuba Mark Gooding Jr. (born January 2, 1968) is an American actor. He is the recipient of an Academy Award, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and an Emmy nomination. After his breakthrough role as Tre Styles in ''Boyz n the Hood'' (1991), he appear ...

In 2014, Kani joined the acclaimed group Fortune Cookie Theatre Company and, alongside

Sylvaine Strike Sylvaine Strike is a South African actress, writer and theatre direction, theatre director based in Cape Town, South Africa. Early life Strike was born in Pretoria. She studied at the University of Cape Town and graduated with a degree in drama ...

, went on to perform ''Black & Blue'' at the Market Theatre. He also performed ''

Sizwe Banzi Is Dead ''Sizwe Banzi Is Dead'' (originally produced and published as: ''Sizwe Bansi is Dead'') is a play by Athol Fugard, written collaboratively with two South African actors, John Kani and Winston Ntshona, both of whom appeared in the original produ ...

'' in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

, directed by Dr. John Kani. They are currently preparing for a South African tour of this production. Kani has recently been seen in the hit

Mzansi Magic Mzansi Magic is a South African digital satellite and general entertainment channel created by Multichoice and run by M-Net's local interest division, and is broadcast on DStv. History The channel launched in mid-July 2010 on channel 107 as ...

TV series, ''It's Complicated''. On Tuesday, 12 July 2016, Kani attended the African premiere of '' The Suit'', a short film in which he plays the role of Philemon, at the Old Fort of Zanzibar as part of the 19th

Zanzibar International Film Festival The Zanzibar International Film Festival (ZIFF), also known as Festival of the Dhow Countries, is an annual film festival held in Zanzibar, Tanzania and one of the largest cultural events in East Africa. ZIFF is a non-governmental organization esta ...

. The film was written and directed by South African filmmaker

Jarryd Coetsee Jarryd Coetsee (born August 5, 1982) is a South African writer and filmmaker. His short film, ''The Suit'' won numerous international awards. Early life and education Coetsee was born in Pretoria where he attended Pretoria Boys High School. H ...

and based on the short story by

Can Themba Daniel Canodoise "Can" Themba (21 June 1924 – 8 September 1967) was a South African short-story writer. Early life Themba was born in Marabastad, near Pretoria, but wrote most of his work in Sophiatown, Johannesburg, South Africa. The town was ...

. Though the film was not a part of the official competition, it was given a Special Mention by the jury. In 2018, Kani portrayed the younger King

T'Chaka T'Chaka is a fictional character appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. He is the father of T'Challa and Shuri. He was the king of Wakanda and Black Panther before T'Challa; he inherited both titles following the death of h ...

, a dual part shared with his father,

, in the film ''

Black Panther A black panther is the melanistic colour variant of the leopard (''Panthera pardus'') and the jaguar (''Panthera onca''). Black panthers of both species have excess black pigments, but their typical rosettes are also present. They have been d ...

''.

Personal life

He was married to presenter Thembisa Mdoda from 2012 – 2015 and is married to Fikile Mthwalo as of 2015.

Filmography

Television

Film

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kani, Atandwa Living people People from Port Elizabeth Xhosa people South African male stage actors South African male television actors 1984 births Tisch School of the Arts alumni