Bio
Leroy Gopal is a Zimbabwean-born South African actor and voice artist best known for his starring role as Thabang Ngema on the SABC3 drama series One Way, from 2006-2007.
He started playing football when he was three years old and his first television appearance was in a Zimbabwean TV show called Paraffin when he was seven.
Leroy attended Budiriro Primary School, Glen View High School and Hartzell High School. He got his O levels and he went to Masvingo Catholic College where he studied Drama and Theatre in 1995.
A trained actor with a BA (Honours) in Live Performance and Motion Picture from AFDA, he is also a professional MC and has emceed at various casinos nationwide.
His first leading role in a movie was in the soccer-themed Yellow Card (2000), in which he played the role of Tiyane Tsumba, whose need to play top league football and his desire to get the girl of his dreams landed him in trouble.
Prior to this role he had appeared in two Christian films about teenage lifestyles: Adventure Unlimited in 1996 and Choose Freedom in 1998.
Other films Leroy has acted in include Siren's Feast, Scared Instinct, Four Days, Through the Flight of a Feather, Night Drive, The Wall, Surprise! and Kite, starring Sameul L. Jackson.
Aside from his breakout role on One Way, he has acted in numerous other television series including the e.tv soapie Backstage, the SABC1 drama series Home Affairs, the SABC3 medical drama Jozi-H, the SABC2 youth drama series Hola Mpinji and the SABC1 soapie Generations in the role of Jackson Gorgeous, a chauffeur.
In 2012 he had a starring role in the SABC1 sitcom Ses'Top La as Oleshe, the rich, Nigerian, BEE neighbour who thinks he is a suave ladies' man and finds Phumi very attractive. He won the 2013 Best Actor in Comedy Award in the South Africa Film and Television Awards (SAFTAs) for this role.
In 2013 he had a starring role in an episode of the e.tv anthology series Mzansi Love: Kasi Style ("Secret Marriage", Season 2, Episode 1). His character, Joshua "JP" Pembe, is a Kenyan man working in South Africa on a work permit and is forced to have a fake marriage to a colleague in order to remain in the country - only to find himself falling in love with her for real.
He also had a starring role in the SABC1 political thriller Ihawu le Sizwe, in 2014.
Leroy is also a busy voice artist having worked for clients such as AA Road Assistance, Tempo, Econet, African Bank, Jet Stores, TopTV, FNB, Gold Reef City Casino, Nampak, Electric Express and Telkom, among others.
Besides acting, Gopal runs his own small company called Creation Station Entertainment where he focuses on corporate training and skills development.