Who is Bongile Mantsai? 10 Facts To Know About The Talented Actor

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Bongile Mantsai (born February 3, 1982) is a 41-year-old South African actor best known for his lead role as Poncho in the Mzansi Magic drama series Nkululeko.

Bongile Mantsai is so good that he can fit into any character so well and bring life to it, even a character that is absolutely different from who he is in reality. As amazing as he is on TV and with all the fans who want to know more about him, he still manages to lead a private life.

Quick Profile Summary Of Bongile Mantsai

  • Name: Bongile Mantsai
  • Age: 41 years old
  • Date of Birth: February 3, 1982
  • Place of Birth: Kayamnandi, Stellenbosch, Western Cape
  • Nationality: South African
  • Relationship Status: Single
  • Occupation: Actor
  • Best Movie Roles: Vija in Inxeba; Dudu Nyakama in Knuckle City
  • Social Media: bongilemantsai (Instagram)

Scandal!’s Bongile Mantsai In Ten Facts

One of the major works Bongile Mantsai will be remembered for is his role as a villain named Myhunzi Mayisa in the popular South African TV series, Scandal! – a role that gained him very well-deserved popularity. Before he landed this role, the talented actor was involved in other things that are worth learning about. Also, his private life is one that you may also be interested in as well. All of these are what we have captured under the following facts.

1. Bongile Mantsai Grew Up In A Christian Home

Detailed information regarding the early life of the talented thespian is not yet available in the public space, but what we know is enough to give you a glimpse of what childhood was like for him.

He was born into the family of a clergyman who was a bishop. From this, you can easily tell that he was raised in a home where Christian values are upheld. There are also reports that he formed a brass group where he played the trumpet and also wrote an acapella gospel song.

2. He Couldn’t Study Drama Due To Language Barrier

Though Bongile Mantsai seemed to have shown some inclination to music, his passion tilted towards a career in acting and he was so sure that he wanted to be an actor that he decided to study drama in the tertiary institution after matriculating from high school.

Even before applying, his desire to study drama was put on hold as a result of his inability to speak Afrikaans which was a major criterion by Stellenbosch University (SU). This may have been a major setback for him, but he was determined to achieve his dreams of acting.

3. He Started His Career By Performing In Physical Theater

Bongile Mantsai did not allow his inability to apply and study his desired course at the SU to stop him from chasing his dreams. He was so passionate about acting as though he knew that one day he would become an award-winning actor.

What he did to get into the acting industry was to reach out to directors and ask for a chance to attend their classes and luckily for him that worked. He started joining physical theater that involved body movements and language classes. With this, he was opportune to work in a couple of university productions.

4. The Talented Actor Has A Career That Spans Across 15 Years

With a career that spans across more than 15 years, Bongile Mantsai has managed to remain relevant in the industry. He is still landing major roles in popular soap operas, which means his greatest career feature may still be on the way.

His acting career has seen him feature in movies like Inxeba: The Wound where he played the role of Vija, the gay lover of Xolani. This 2017 movie that was viewed at the 2017 World Cinema Dramatic Competition gained him a lot of recognition. The following year, he was a part of the cast of Sew the Winter to My Skin and in 2019, he featured in yet another movie that also gained him some level of fame titled Knuckle City – where he featured as a boxer. He also appeared in Nkululeko where he played the character of Poncho, among other prominent roles.

5. He Joined The Cast Of Scandal! In 2018

2018 saw the introduction of Bongile Mantsai as one of the new cast members of e.tv’s Scandal!, which is one of the most viewed soap operas in South Africa. In this series, he plays the role of Myhunzi Mayisa, a cunning villain who can be anything to anybody just to get what he wants.

Though viewers are always quick to attribute the role a person plays in a movie to who they are in reality, Bongile Mantsai has made it clear that he is just the opposite of the character he portrayed in the series.

6. His Great Acting Skills Has Earned Him Awards

Bongile Mantsai’s fantastic performances in renowned movies have not only been noticed by viewers who appreciate what he does but the decision-makers in the industry are also seeing his works. The South African movie industry has encouraged his efforts by the way of several awards.

In 2014, he bagged the award for the Best Lead Male Actor at the Naledi Theatre Awards. Following his top-notch performance in Inxeba, he landed the awards for Best Supporting Actor at the 2018 South African Film and Television Awards (SAFTA) event.

At the 2020 SAFTA gong that took place virtually as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, he won the award for Best Actor on TV soap for his role in Scandal! He also won the award for the Best Actor in a Feature Film for his role in Knuckle City. It was really a big day for Bongile Mantsai as he bagged two awards.

7. He Was More Excited About His Awards In 2020 Than His First Award In 2018

Speaking about how he felt about the two big awards that were added to his collections in 2020, he revealed that he was more at peace with them than the first one.

Normally, one would expect that his first award would have been his best, but according to the actor, he was not really happy about the first award because of the controversies that surrounded the movie – Inxeba. However, his 2020 awards made him feel at peace, knowing that his work was actually recognized without any controversy.

8. Bongile Mantsai Has Been Rumored To Be In A Relationship With Actresses Masasa Mbongeni And Sivenathi Mabuya

When actors play their on-screen roles so well – especially if it is a romantic role –  fans may be forgiven if they start thinking that there is an actual relationship between the actors in reality. This gets even worse when pictures from the production surface on the internet. This is a situation Bongile Mantsai and his colleagues are well familiar with.

During the 2020 lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic, one of Bongile’s colleagues on Scandal!, Masasa Mbongeni, uploaded a picture of herself and an unidentified man on Instagram and fans were quick to suspect that the unidentified man in the picture was Bongile. It was later clarified that he was not the one.

Again, as a result of the connection he shares with Sivenathi Mabuya his on-screen wife on Scandal!, there have also been speculations that the two are in a romantic relationship in reality but he is also yet to confirm this.

9. Mantsai Is Yet To Introduce Any Lady To Mzansi As His Partner

Bongile Mantsai is also in the category of celebrities who do not open up their relationship status and partner to the public. In the space of his more than 15 years in the entertainment industry, he has not introduced anyone to the public as the love of his life.

As a result of this, it is difficult to say for sure whether he is in a relationship or not, and so he can only be adjudged to be single until he proves otherwise. Concerning marriage, Bongile has never been married before to the best of our knowledge.

10. Bongile Mantsai Is Not Just An Actor But Also An Art Director

Aside from being good at his job, Bongile Mantsai is also creating another career path for himself in theater production as a director. The actor is a director at Zabalaza, a Baxter Theatre Centre Development Programme developing theatre productions in Western Cape, the same province he hails from.

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