John Kani | |
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Born | Bonisile John Kani 30 August 1942 New Brighton, Eastern Cape, South Africa |
Occupations |
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Years active | 1965–present |
Children | Atandwa Kani |
Honours | Order of Ikhamanga in Silver [1] |
Bonisile John Kani, OIS , OBE (born 30 August 1942) 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), Rafiki in The Lion King (2019) and Colonel Ulenga in the Netflix films Murder Mystery (2019) and Murder Mystery 2 (2023).
Kani was born on 30 August 1942 in New Brighton, Port Elizabeth In the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. [1] In 1975, after appearing in Athol Fugard's anti-apartheid play Sizwe Banzi Is Dead , which he also co-wrote, in the United States, Kani returned to South Africa. There, he received a phone call saying that his father wanted to see him. On his way there, he was surrounded by police who beat him and left him for dead. His left eye was lost as a result of the incident, and he now wears a prosthesis which is technically a glass eye. [2]
His son Atandwa is also an actor, who made his debut on U.S. television on the CW series Life Is Wild , and played a younger version of Kani's character T'Chaka in Black Panther . [3]
Kani joined The Serpent Players (a group of actors whose first performance was in the former snake pit of the zoo, hence the name)[ citation needed ] in Port Elizabeth in 1965 and helped to create many plays that went unpublished but were performed to a resounding reception. [4] [5]
These were followed by the more famous Sizwe Banzi is Dead and The Island, co-written with Athol Fugard and Winston Ntshona, in the early 1970s. Kani also received an Olivier Award nomination for his role in My Children! My Africa! [6]
Kani's work has been widely performed around the world, including New York, where he and Winston Ntshona won a Tony Award in 1975 for Sizwe Banzi Is Dead (which ran for 159 performances) and The Island.' [7] These two plays were presented in repertory at the Edison Theatre for a total of 52 performances.[ citation needed ]
In 1987 Kani played Othello in a performance of William Shakespeare's play of the same name in South Africa, which was still under apartheid. "At least I'll be able to kiss Desdemona without leaving a smudge," he said then. [8]
Nothing but the Truth (2002) was his debut as sole playwright and was first performed in the Market Theatre in Johannesburg. This play takes place in post-apartheid South Africa and does not concern the conflicts between whites and blacks, but the rift between blacks who stayed in South Africa to fight apartheid, and those who left only to return when the hated regime folded. It won the 2003 Fleur du Cap Awards for the best actor and best new South African play. [9] In the same year, he was also awarded a special Obie Award for his extraordinary contribution to theatre in the United States. [10]
Kani is executive trustee of the John Kani Theatre Foundation, founder and director of the John Kani Theatre Laboratory and chairman of the National Arts Council of SA. [11] He starred as T'Chaka in the Marvel Studios blockbusters Captain America: Civil War (2016) and Black Panther (2018). The fact that Kani was a Xhosa native speaker led Chadwick Boseman, who played his onscreen son T'Challa, to make that Wakanda's language, and to learn whole scenes in Xhosa, although he had never studied the language before.
In 2019, Kani appeared in the Netflix film Murder Mystery where he played Colonel Ulenga. He then voiced Rafiki in The Lion King (the live action remake of the Disney animated film). [12]
Kani's play, Kunene and the King, a co-production for the Royal Shakespeare Company and Fugard Theatre, played in the Swan Theatre in Stratford-upon-Avon in 2019 before transferring back to Cape Town. He starred alongside Antony Sher. [13]
On 20 February 2010, Kani received a SAFTA Lifetime award. [14] He has also received the Avanti Hall of Fame Award from the South African film, television, and advertising industries, an M-Net Plum award and a Clio award in New York. Other awards include the Hiroshima Peace Culture Foundation Award for the year 2000 and the Olive Schreiner Prize for 2005. He was voted 51st in the Top 100 Great South Africans in 2004. [15]
In 2006, he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of Cape Town. [16] Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University appointed him an honorary Doctor of Philosophy in 2013. [17]
In 2016 Kani received the national honour of the Order of Ikhamanga in Silver, for his "Excellent contributions to theatre and, through this, the struggle for a non-racial, non-sexist and democratic South Africa". [1]
The main theatre of the Market Theatre complex in Newtown, Johannesburg, has been renamed The John Kani Theatre in his honour. [18]
In 2020 he was awarded an honorary doctorate by the University of the Witwatersrand [19] Recently, in 2021, John Kani has been conferred the Da Vinci Laureate by The Da Vinci Institute.
In 2023 he was awarded an Honorary OBE from British Government for services to drama. [20]
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1974 | BBC2 Playhouse | Styles / Buntu | Episode: "Sizwe Bansi Is Dead" |
2nd House | Episode: "Athol Fugard" | ||
1978 | Play for Today | George O'Brien | Episode: "Victims of Apartheid" |
1985 | Master Harold...and the Boys | Willie | Television film |
1986 | Miss Julie | John | Television film |
1989 | Othello | Othello | Television film |
1997 | Kap der Rache | Inspektor Khumalo | Television film |
2006 | Hillside | Dr. Vincent Maloka | 1 episode |
2008 | The No. 1 Ladies' Detective Agency | Daddy Bapetsi | Episode: "Pilot" |
Silent Witness | Dr. Phiri | 2 episode | |
2012 | iNkaba | Mkhuseli Mthetho | 1 episode |
2015 | Wallander | Max Khulu | Episode: "The White Lioness" |
2021 | What If...? | T'Chaka | Voice, 2 episodes: "What If... T'Challa Became a Star-Lord?", "What If... Killmonger Rescued Tony Stark?" |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1978 | The Wild Geese | Sgt. Jesse Link | |
1980 | Marigolds in August | Melton | |
1981 | Killing Heat | Moses | |
1987 | Saturday Night at the Palace | September | |
An African Dream | Khatana | ||
1989 | Options | Jonas Mabote | |
A Dry White Season | Julius | ||
The Native Who Caused All the Trouble | Tselilo Mseme | ||
1992 | Sarafina! | School Principal | |
1995 | Soweto Green: This Is a 'Tree' Story | Dr. Curtis Tshabalala | |
1996 | The Ghost and the Darkness | Samuel | |
1997 | Kini and Adams | Ben | |
1998 | The Tichborne Claimant | Bogle | |
2001 | Final Solution | Rev. Peter Lekota | |
2007 | The Bird Can’t Fly | Stone | |
2008 | Nothing but the Truth | Sipho | Also director and writer |
2009 | Endgame | Oliver Tambo | |
2010 | White Lion | Old Gisani | |
2011 | Coriolanus | General Cominius | Tragedy / Drama / Thriller / War |
Janapriyan | Drama / Family / Musical / Romance | ||
How to Steal 2 Million | Julius Twala Snr. | Action / Drama | |
2012 | Jail Caesar | Marius | Drama / History |
2016 | The Suit | Mr. Maphikela | Short film |
Captain America: Civil War | T'Chaka | Superhero / Action / Sci-Fi | |
2018 | Black Panther | T'Chaka | Superhero / Action / Adventure / Sci-Fi |
2019 | Murder Mystery | Colonel Ulenga | Cozy mystery / Action / Comedy / Crime / Romance |
The Lion King | Rafiki | Voice | |
2021 | Seal Team | Brick | Voice |
2023 | Murder Mystery 2 | Colonel Ulenga | [21] |
2024 | Mufasa: The Lion King | Rafiki | Voice, post-production |
"Master Harold"...and the boys is a play by Athol Fugard. Set in 1950, it was first produced at the Yale Repertory Theatre in March 1982 and made its premiere on Broadway on 4 May at the Lyceum Theatre, where it ran for 344 performances. The play takes place in South Africa during apartheid era, and depicts how institutionalized racism, bigotry or hatred can become absorbed by those who live under it. It is said to be a semi-autobiographical play, as Athol Fugard's birth name was Harold and his boyhood was very similar to Hally's, including his father being disabled, and his mother running a tea shop to support the family. His relationship with his family's servants was similar to Hally's as he sometimes considered them his friends, but other times treated them like subservient help, insisting that he be called "Master Harold", and once spitting in the face of one he had been close to. Additionally the play was remade for a suitable audience in 2005.
Zakes Makgona Mokae was a South African stage and screen actor. He was well-known for his work with playwright Athol Fugard, notably in The Blood Knot and "Master Harold"...and the Boys, the latter earning him a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play.
Athol Fugard OIS HonFRSL is a South African playwright, novelist, actor, and director widely regarded as South Africa's greatest playwright. He is best known for his political and penetrating plays opposing the system of apartheid. Some of these have also been adapted for film.
Winston Ntshona was a South African playwright and actor. He won a Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play in 1975.
Sir Antony Sher 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 and toured in many roles, as well as appearing on film and television. In 2001, he starred in his cousin Ronald Harwood's play Mahler's Conversion, and said that the story of a composer sacrificing his faith for his career echoed his own identity struggles.
The Market Theatre, based in the downtown bohemian suburb of Newtown in Johannesburg, South Africa, was opened in 1976, operating as an independent, anti-racist theatre during the country's apartheid regime. It was named after a fruit and vegetable market that was previously located there. It was also known as the Old Indian Market or the Newtown Market, which closed after 60 years. The Market Theatre was renamed John Kani Theatre in 2014 after the renowned South African stage actor John Kani.
New Brighton is a township in the Eastern Cape, South Africa. It forms part of the greater township of Ibhayi and the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality which governs Port Elizabeth and its surroundings.
Blood Knot is an early play by South African playwright, actor, and director Athol Fugard. Its single-performance premier was in 1961 in Johannesburg, South Africa, with the playwright and Zakes Mokae playing the brothers Morris and Zachariah.
The Island is a play written by Athol Fugard, John Kani, and Winston Ntshona.
Sizwe Banzi 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 production. Its world première occurred on 8 October 1972 at the Space Theatre, Cape Town, South Africa. Its subsequent British première won a London Theatre Critics Award for the Best Play of 1974. Its American première occurred at the Edison Theatre, in New York City, on 13 November 1974. It has been ranked among the best plays ever made by The Independent, where it was described as a "deceptively light and humane play that outlasts the apartheid era."
Atandwa Kani is a South African actor. He is the son of actor John Kani.
Boesman and Lena is a small-cast play by South African playwright Athol Fugard, set in the Swartkops mudflats outside of Port Elizabeth in the Eastern Cape. It features a "Coloured" man and woman walking from one shanty town to another, and explores the effect of apartheid on a few individuals.
Marigolds in August is a play by South Africa's Athol Fugard.
The Space Theatre was a fringe theatre in Cape Town, South Africa which was active in the 1970s. It re-opened in late 2008.
Marigolds in August is a 1980 South African drama film directed by Ross Devenish, based on the play of the same name by Athol Fugard. It was entered into the 30th Berlin International Film Festival, where it won the Berlin Bear Anniversary Prize.
The Train Driver is a play by South African playwright Athol Fugard.
Matthew Xia is a British theatre director, DJ, composer, broadcaster and journalist.
Dorkay House is situated on Portion 168 of Farm Turnfontein at 5–7 Eloff Street, Johannesburg, South Africa. It was constructed in 1952 and was designed by architect Colman Segal (1923–1988). It takes its name from the original owner, Dora Kotzen.
Brian Astbury was a South African photographer, theatre director, acting and writing teacher, and founder of The Space Theatre in Cape Town, South Africa.
The Fugard Theatre, also known as The Fugard, was opened in the District Six area of Cape Town, South Africa, in February 2010. It closed in March 2021 and was handed over to the District Six Museum by its founder Eric Abraham. The theatre reopened in 2022 as the District Six Homecoming Centre, while the Fugard's archive moved online.
Kani lost his eye when he returned to South Africa after appearing in Athol Fugard's anti-apartheid play, "Sizwe Banzi Is Dead," here and in New York. The actor was lured from his home by a telephone caller who said Kani was wanted at his father's home. On the way there, Kani says he was surrounded by police, who beat him and left him for dead.