Bio
Waldemar Schultz is a South African actor, director and voice artist best known for his role as Jan-Hendrik Terreblanche in the SABC2 soapie 7de Laan, from 2000-2009.
He was also the host of the 7de Laan companion show Ken Jou Laan (Know Your Lane), which aired on SABC2 from 13 June to 5 September, 2008.
Education
Schultz grew up in Milnerton near Cape Town, where he showed a great love for acting and the theatre from a very early age, taking part in as many school theatre productions as possible.
This love eventually ripened into a career choice, and led him to study Drama at the University of Stellenbosch, where he achieved a Master's degree in Drama, and taught acting from 1992 to 1994.
During his time as a student at Stellenbosch, he was recipient of the prestigious Fleur du Cap theatre award for the Most Promising Student (as well as two nominations in previous years for the same award), and was also awarded the sought-after University of Stellenbosch Drama Department's Dux Prize for the highest standard of work upheld over the course of four years' study for a degree in drama.
Later, while a Master's Degree student, he would also lecture in acting at the university.
Career
While still a graduate student, Schultz began a freelance career in voice dubbing and radio dramas for the SABC, and would eventually go on to become a dubbing director for Quantum Productions for a while.
Between 1991 and 2001, he also busied himself acting in and/or directing (and sometimes writing) many theatre projects for different companies including PACT, CAPAB, Spektrum Productions and Blond Productions.
His first role in a television series was as Klein-Geoff in the 1994 series, Woestynblom, followed by Paul Kruger in the CCV youth drama Young Vision.
Smaller cameo roles in Hagenheim: Streng Privaat, Soutmansland and Arsenaal followed, but most of his time was taken up with voice work, corporate and children's theatre and commercials – until, from the year 2000, the role of Jan-Hendrik Terreblanche in 7de Laan became more-or-less a full-time occupation.
He left 7de Laan in late 2008 (his last appearance was on Friday 6 March, 2009), in order to return to Cape Town, having lived in Johannesburg since beginning on 7de Laan.
From 2010-2011 he starred as the lead character in the kykNET improvisational show Proesstraat (Proes Street), recorded without a script, in front of a live audience. He left the show after two seasons.
In 2012 he guest starred in the final season of the SABC1 sitcom Stokvel and in 2013 he starred in the fifth episode of the kykNET crime anthology murder mystery drama series Die Boland Moorde (The Boland Murders).
In 2016 he starred in the crime drama series Die Byl (The Axe), playing the lead role of Colonel Piet van der Bijl, a detective loosely based on the real life South African detective Piet Byleveld.
Personal Life
He was married in 1996 to actress Ira Blanckenberg. They met as students in Ira's first year, but it was not until her final year when he was a post-graduate student that they at last "found each other".
She is a preparatory school drama teacher and freelance actress (Erika Landsberg in 7de Laan, Petra in Binnelanders, Shay in Egoli), and together they had two children: a son, Kieran (b. 1999 d. 2013) and a daughter, Dhania (b. 2002).
In August 2013 they lost Kieran, who was 14-years-old at the time. Kieran died after losing his footing on a cliff in Hermanus. He climbed over a small wall on the cliff, lost his footing and tried to grab a branch. He fell 20 metres into shallow water and suffered fatal head injuries.
Schultz was in Hermanus to perform at the Kalfiefees.