Sivuyile Ngesi (born 18 October 1985) is a South African actor, comedian, presenter, and producer.
Early life
Ngesi was born to a Xhosa family of four children in
Gugulethu
Gugulethu is a township in the Western Cape, South Africa and is 15 km from Cape Town. Its name is a contraction of ''igugu lethu'', which is Xhosa for ''our pride''. The township was established along with Nyanga in the 1960s.
History
The ...
in the east of
Cape Town
Cape Town ( af, Kaapstad; , xh, iKapa) is one of South Africa's three capital cities, serving as the seat of the Parliament of South Africa. It is the legislative capital of the country, the oldest city in the country, and the second largest ...
. He spent his early childhood there before moving to
Langa and later
Pinelands. His mother Jacqueline is a school principal. He lost his father to a car accident in 2004. Ngesi attended
Pinelands High School
Pinelands High School is a public English medium co-educational high school situated in Forest Drive, Pinelands in the city of Cape Town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. It was opened in July 1952 and the founding principal was Jac ...
and trained at the Waterfront Theatre School and
Jazzart Dance Theatre. He explained during the
#FeesMustFall movement that he was unable to afford university.
Career
Ngesi began his career as a child actor, playing
Gavroche
Gavroche () is a fictional character in the 1862 novel ''Les Misérables'' by Victor Hugo. He is a boy who lives on the streets of Paris. His name has become a synonym for an urchin or street child. Gavroche plays a short yet significant role in ...
in ''
Les Misérables
''Les Misérables'' ( , ) is a French historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published in 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century.
In the English-speaking world, the novel is usually referred to by its original ...
'' on tour in Asia. He also performed a piece from the musical for
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 ...
.
Ngesi made his television debut in the
Disney Channel Original Movie
Many television films have been produced for Disney Channel, an American family-oriented basic cable channel and former premium television channel since its launch on April 18, 1983. Until October 1997, films were released under the banner nam ...
''
Zenon: Z3'' as Bobby and his feature film debut in ''
The World Unseen
''The World Unseen'' is a 2007 historical drama film, written and directed by Shamim Sarif, adapted from her own novel. The film is set in 1950s Cape Town, South Africa during the beginning of apartheid. The film stars Lisa Ray and Sheetal Sh ...
''. He guest starred as Thomas in ''
24: Redemption'', a 2008 television film sequel to the
Fox
Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush'').
Twelve sp ...
action series ''
24'', and had a small role in the
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 ...
and
Francois Pienaar
Jacobus Francois Pienaar (born 2 January 1967) is a retired South African rugby union player. He played flanker for South Africa (the Springboks) from 1993 until 1996, winning 29 international caps, all of them as captain. He is best known for ...
biopic ''
Invictus
"Invictus" is a short poem by the Victorian era British poet William Ernest Henley (1849–1903). It was written in 1875 and published in 1888 in his first volume of poems, ''Book of Verses'', in the section ''Life and Death (Echoes)''.
Backgr ...
''.
Ngesi embarked on a one-man comedy show ''DeKaf'', which ran for three years at the
National Arts Festival
The National Arts Festival (NAF) is an annual festival of performing arts in Grahamstown, South Africa. It is the largest arts festival on the African continent and one of the largest performing arts festivals in the world by visitor numbers.
Th ...
and won the Golden Ovation Award for Best Comedy at the 2010 festival. He then took the show on a national tour.
Ngesi starred opposite
Rob van Vuuren
Robert Craig Jansen van Vuuren (born 26 March 1976) is a South African comedian, actor, presenter, theatre maker, and writer.
Early life
Van Vuuren was born in Port Elizabeth. He completed his matriculation at Maritzburg College before going on t ...
in the 2012 crime comedy film ''Copposites''. He, van Vuuren, and Danielle Bischoff created the children's book series Florence & Watson as well as it accompanying stage show.
In 2014, Ngesi competed alongside dance partner Marcella Solimeo in the seventh season of ''
Strictly Come Dancing
''Strictly Come Dancing'' (informally known as ''Strictly'') is a British dance contest show in which celebrities partner with professional dancers to compete in mainly ballroom and Latin dance. Each couple is scored by a panel of usually 4 ...
'', placing fifth in the competition that year.
Ngesi has hosted the magazine show ''The Man Cave'' since 2015, winning one out two nominations for Best TV Presenter at the
South African Film and Television Awards
South is one of the cardinal directions or compass points. The direction is the opposite of north and is perpendicular to both east and west.
Etymology
The word ''south'' comes from Old English ''sūþ'', from earlier Proto-Germanic ''*sunþaz ...
(SAFTAs). In 2016, he began hosting and producing the reality cooking competition show ''Jou Ma se Chef''. He had a recurring role as Udo in the third season of the
Starz
Starz (stylized as STARZ since 2016; pronounced "stars") is an American premium cable and satellite television network owned by Lions Gate Entertainment, and is the flagship property of parent subsidiary Starz Inc. Programming on Starz consist ...
historical adventure series ''
Black Sails''.
Ngesi produced 14 shows at the 2017
National Arts Festival
The National Arts Festival (NAF) is an annual festival of performing arts in Grahamstown, South Africa. It is the largest arts festival on the African continent and one of the largest performing arts festivals in the world by visitor numbers.
Th ...
, taking home a Spirit of the Fringe award for his contributions to the festival that year.
Among his shows that year was ''Siv-ilised''.
In 2019, Ngesi appeared in three films: ''
Knuckle City
''Knuckle City'' is a 2019 South African crime sports film written and directed by Jahmil X.T. Qubeka. It was screened in the Contemporary World Cinema section at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival. It was selected as the South Africa ...
'', which became South Africa's
Academy Award
The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...
submission in the
Best International Feature Film category; ''
Bhai's Cafe
''Bhai's Cafe'' is a South African musical comedy-drama film shot in the style of a Bollywood film directed by Maynard Kraak from a screenplay by Darron Meyer and Aaron Naidoo. It premiered at the 2019 Durban International Film Festival. It had ...
'', a Bollywood-style musical; and the Afrikaans romantic comedy ''Kaalgat Karel''. The following year, Ngesi joined the cast of the
Showmax
Showmax is an online subscription video on demand (SVOD) service which launched in South Africa on 19 August 2015. Showmax uses a localisation strategy to take on established video on demand competitors with a focus on local content and partner ...
drama ''Still Breathing'' as the character T-Boss.
Ngesi created and began performing under the drag persona Sivanna in 2021. The name is a portmanteau of the cider drink Savanna and the Xhosa word Siyavana. He hosted the Cape Town Drag Brunch that December.
Ngesi joined the
Showmax
Showmax is an online subscription video on demand (SVOD) service which launched in South Africa on 19 August 2015. Showmax uses a localisation strategy to take on established video on demand competitors with a focus on local content and partner ...
comedy ''Tali's Baby Diary'' for its second season as well as 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 ...
drama ''
Jiva
''Jiva'' ( sa, जीव, IAST: ) is a living being or any entity imbued with a life force in Hinduism and Jīva (Jainism), Jainism. The word itself originates from the Sanskrit verb-root ''jīv'', which translates as 'to breathe' or 'to live'. ...
''. His recurring role as Victor in ''Dam'', also on Showmax, earned him his first acting nomination at the 2022
SAFTAs for Best Supporting Actor, having received nods for his presenting work in the past.
It was revealed in January 2022 that Ngesi had joined the cast of the upcoming
Gina Prince-Bythewood
Gina Maria Prince-Bythewood (born June 10, 1969) is an American film director and screenwriter. She is known for directing the films ''Love & Basketball'' (2000), ''Disappearing Acts'' (2000), '' The Secret Life of Bees'' (2008), ''Beyond the Lig ...
-directed and
Viola Davis
Viola Davis (; born August 11, 1965) is an American actress and producer. The recipient of various accolades, including an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, and two Tony Awards, she is the only African-American to achieve the Triple Crow ...
-produced film ''
The Woman King
''The Woman King'' is a 2022 American historical action drama film about the Agojie, the all-female warrior unit that protected the West African kingdom of Dahomey during the 17th to 19th centuries. Set in the 1820s, the film stars Viola Davis ...
''.
Filmography
Film
Television
Awards and nominations
References
External links
*
Siv Ngesiat TVSA
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ngesi, Siv
Living people
1985 births
South African drag queens
South African male child actors
South African male comedians
South African male musical theatre actors
South African radio presenters
South African television personalities
Male actors from Cape Town
Xhosa people
African comedians