Pallance Dladla (born August 22, 1992) is a South African actor. He has received multiple awards and nominations, including the SAFTA Award. Dladla first gained recognition as a runner-up on the second season of ''Class Act''. He lost to eventual winners Abdul Khoza and Tumie Ngumla, whom he later would work with in the

SABC1 SABC 1 is a South African public television network operated by the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC) which carries programming in English and Nguni. It was created in 1996, after the SABC restructured its television channels. SABC 1 ...

drama series ''Tempy Pusha.'' Dladla has had roles in various television shows, including the drama series ''4Play: Sex Tips for Girls'', ''Intersexions'', ''Isibaya'', '' Rhythm City'', '' Is'Thunzi'', and the aforementioned drama-comedy ''Tempy Pushas''. His first leading role in a big-budget production came with the drama film ''Hard to Get'' (2014). In 2019, Dladla starred in the

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

thriller series ''

Shadow A shadow is a dark area where light from a light source is blocked by an opaque object. It occupies all of the three-dimensional volume behind an object with light in front of it. The cross section of a shadow is a two-dimensional silhouette, o ...

'', as the title character Shadrach "Shadow" Khumalo.

Early life

Dladla was born in the

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu and xh, eGoli ), colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, or "The City of Gold", is the largest city in South Africa, classified as a megacity, and is one of the 100 largest urban areas in the world. According to Demo ...

Gauteng Gauteng ( ) is one of the nine provinces of South Africa. The name in Sotho-Tswana languages means 'place of gold'. Situated on the Highveld, Gauteng is the smallest province by land area in South Africa. Although Gauteng accounts for only ...

province of South Africa. He was raised in the township of

Soweto Soweto () is a township of the City of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality in Gauteng, South Africa, bordering the city's mining belt in the south. Its name is an English syllabic abbreviation for ''South Western Townships''. Formerly a s ...

. Dladla grew up without his father and was raised by his grandfather. According to Dladla his grandfather named him "Pallance" after his favourite actor, Jack Palance. He attended

Parktown Boys' High School Parktown Boys' High School is a public English medium high school for boys situated in Parktown, a suburb of Johannesburg in the Gauteng province of South Africa. It is one of the oldest schools in Johannesburg. Parktown Boys' sister school is ...

in Wellington Road near Park town Mansion.

Career

2006–2010: Career beginnings

Dladla developed a love for acting at a young age. In 2010 he participated in the Milk and Bread nationwide DALRO scholarship competition, where his self-penned play was a runner up. While at school, Dladla won the Parktown Boys High Original Script Award along with the Best Actor Award. Dladla went on to win the Most Prestigious Best Actor Award in the ACT/DALRO/Nedbank Scholarships Development.

2011–2012: ''Class Act'' and breakthrough

In 2011, while accompanying a friend to audition for ''Class Act'', Dladla made an impromptu decision to also audition in the talent search competition broadcast nationally by

. Dladla reached the final stage of ''Class Act'' 2011. He received acclaim from the likes of Darryl Roodt, who directed the Academy Award nominated film '' Yesterday''. Dladla ultimately lost the competition to Abdul Khoza in the final public voting. In 2012, alongside Xolile Tshabalala,

Kgomotso Christopher Kgomotso Christopher (born 25 March 1979) is a South African actress best known for her time in ''Isidingo'' as Katlego Sibeko before joining ''Scandal'' as the character of Yvonne "YV" Langa. She is also the voice behind MTN's Interactive Voi ...

, Tiffany Jones, and Cheryl Ladd, he played a starring role as Jimmy in the

etv ETV may stand for: Television * e.tv, a South African terrestrial television channel * Educational Television (Hong Kong), a television series * Educational television, the use of television in education * Enhanced TV, an interactive television ap ...

drama series ''4Play: Sex Tips for Girls'' - Season 3. That same year, he had a cameo role as "Mohato" in the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

drama series '' Wild at Heart''.

2013-2014

In 2013, he played the role of Sizwe on the SABC1 drama series ''Intersexions''. In the same year he starred as the character of X on SABC 1 comedy-drama ''Tempy Pushas''. In season 3 of the series he was replaced by Luzuko Nteleko. Shortly after, he landed a starring role in the

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 ...

soap-opera ''Isibaya'', where he portrayed the character Jabulani "Jabu" Zungu. He was part of the original cast since the show began. Dladla received acclaim for his performance as a supporting actor in the action movie ''

iNumber Number ''Avenged'' (originally titled ''iNumber Number'') is a 2013 South African action film written and directed by Donovan Marsh. It was screened in the Contemporary World Cinema section at the 2013 Toronto International Film Festival. Plot Chili ...

'' (2013). In June 2014, Dladla joined the e.tv soapie '' Rhythm City'', taking over the role of Sibusiso Vilakazi, previously played by Lungile Radu. In addition, Dladla was cast in the romantic drama film ''Hard to Get'' alongside Thishiwe Ziqubu and Israel Makoe. The film garnered a range of positive user reviews.

2016-2017

From 2016-2017, Dladla had a recurring role as Duke in the

Doug Liman Douglas Eric Liman (; born July 24, 1965) is an American film director and producer. He is known for directing the films '' Swingers'' (1996), '' Go'' (1999), '' The Bourne Identity'' (2002), '' Mr. & Mrs. Smith'' (2005), ''Jumper'' (2008), ''Edg ...

directed drama '' Is'thunzi''.

Present

In 2019, Dladla starred in the

thriller series ''

'' as title character Shadrach "Shadow" Khumalo. Fellow cast members include Amanda Du-Pont, Khathu Ramabulana, and Tumie Ngumla. ''Shadow'' was Netflix's first South African original series and it premiered on 8 March 2019.

Personal life

Dladla enjoys dancing and watching movies in his spare time. His favorite movies include '' Scarface'', ''

Training Day ''Training Day'' is a 2001 American crime thriller film directed by Antoine Fuqua and written by David Ayer. It stars Denzel Washington as Alonzo Harris and Ethan Hawke as Jake Hoyt, two LAPD narcotics officers over a 24-hour period in the gang- ...

'' and ''

Mean Streets ''Mean Streets'' is a 1973 American crime film directed by Martin Scorsese and co-written by Scorsese and Mardik Martin. The film stars Harvey Keitel and Robert De Niro. It was released by Warner Bros. on October 2, 1973. De Niro won the National ...

''. Dladla has cited

Al Pacino Alfredo James Pacino (; ; born April 25, 1940) is an American actor. Considered one of the most influential actors of the 20th century, he has received numerous accolades: including an Academy Award, two Tony Awards, and two Primetime Emmy ...

Denzel Washington Denzel Hayes Washington Jr. (born December 28, 1954) is an American actor and filmmaker. He has been described as an actor who reconfigured "the concept of classic movie stardom". Throughout his career spanning over four decades, Washington ha ...

, and

Johnny Depp John Christopher Depp II (born June 9, 1963) is an American actor and musician. He is the recipient of multiple accolades, including a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award, in addition to nominations for three Academy Award ...

as his favorite actors. Dladla is friends with Sdumo Mtshali, with whom he starred in ''Tempy Pushas'', ''IsiBaya'', ''iNumber Number'' and ''Hard to Get''.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dladla, Pallance 1992 births Living people People from Manzini 21st-century South African male actors South African male film actors South African male television actors Alumni of Parktown Boys' High School