Zulu is known for his role as Mgobhozi in Shaka iLembe.
Actor and musician, Fanele Zulu. Picture: Instagram
‘Amalanga Awafani’ actor Fanele Zulu recently opened up about the challenges he faced at the start of his acting career, including attending hundreds of auditions and relying on his wife’s family for support.
Zulu was speaking during an interview on the Engineer Your Life podcast with Lungelo KM.
Attending hundreds of auditions
The actor said finding work in the entertainment industry was one of the biggest challenges he faced early in his career.
“I used to count every audition I went to from 2020. At the time, I was getting close to 800 auditions and not even one yes. From 2020 until 2023…”
During that period, Zulu said he took a job at a call centre.
“It was probably the worst period because even at the call centre, people would look at me and say, ‘He fell off; he was arrogant, now he fell off.’ And they were not lying. I was arrogant. I’m not going to sit here and be all victim.”
He also shared that he lived with his now-wife’s family while struggling to find acting work.
“There were times when I had to take my daughter out of school because I did not have money to pay for her school fees,” he said.
“There was a time when my wife was working and I wasn’t. And as much as she was very supportive and she never once made me feel like I am less of a man because of that, me as a man, it didn’t sit right with me.”
Zulu married his long-time partner, Nana Zulu, in December last year.
Reflecting on early career mistakes
The actor also reflected on the mistakes he made during the early years of his career.
“I don’t want to display myself as a victim. There was times also where I was not the best person even at work. There were times when I didn’t treat people right.
“This fame thing is something else, and if you’re not disciplined and you don’t know where you are going, it will take you where it wants to take you.”
He added that he was grateful to have learnt from his mistakes early in his career.
“Now I am grown. I handle things and situations very much differently than the way I used to back then.”
Zulu is best known for his roles in the television series Shaka iLembe, Durban Gen and Cotton Dreams, as well as the short film Forever.
