Soweto-born powerhouse Abdul Khoza is back on our screens, but he is no longer just aiming to steal scenes—he is preparing to run the entire show.
As he makes a highly anticipated, full-circle return to SABC 1’s hit telenovela Uzalo, the award-winning actor has candidly opened up about a period of professional silence that almost led him to walk away from acting entirely, and how it sparked a burning passion to build his own production company.
A 12-Year Evolution: From Idealistic Doctor to Biker Gang Leader
Khoza’s return to Uzalo is a masterclass in character evolution. He steps into the shoes of Ma-Ten-Ten, a character briefly introduced all the way back in season one as a hopeful medical professional.
“My introduction back then was brief, and I could never have imagined that twelve years later I would return to inhabit him once more,” Khoza shared. “At the time, he was an idealistic doctor… but when the very system he trusted turned against him, that dream collapsed.”
“Disillusioned by a profession that offered little reward for honesty and sacrifice, he walked away… and forged a new identity as the leader of the Amantaliyane biker gang. Now, Ma-Ten-Ten is a man who takes the law into his own hands.”
For Khoza, stepping back onto the Uzalo set as a major player is a powerful testament to an industry truth he holds dear: “There is no such thing as a big or small role.”
Building a Empire Behind the Camera
While fans are thrilled to see his electric on-screen presence again, Khoza’s time away from the camera was far from wasted. Believing his acting days might be behind him, he pivoted his focus entirely toward mastering the art of storytelling from the director’s chair.
“Having that period away from work gave me something incredibly valuable – time. I used that time to invest in myself,” Khoza revealed. “I started writing my own stories because I’ve always dreamed of owning my own production company.”
This dream is already in motion. Khoza has been quietly expanding his global portfolio, developing projects in Zimbabwe in collaboration with German filmmakers, where he took on the massive responsibility of overseeing everything from wardrobe and makeup to directing and acting.
By reclaiming his space on screen while simultaneously laying the groundwork for his own production house, Abdul Khoza is proving that a quiet phase in a creative career is often just the prelude to a much bigger breakthrough.
