Season 2
Top Actor Africa (known as Top Actor SA in the first season) is a South African reality competition series in which 12 up-and-coming actors compete in weekly challenges to win a career-launching prize package and the title of "Top Actor Africa".
BET handpicked 12 actors in the country to battle it out on camera in front of big industry names from Hollywood and South Africa. At stake? The chance to win the title "Top Actor Africa" and a prize package that includes cash and international management representation.
The contestants will have to show guts and determination to get through a series of themed challenges as the judges test their acting skills in key acting disciplines from Romance to Horror, Comedy, Soap, Action, Theatre and more.
Living under one roof, there will be drama in the house and on the screen as the contestants compete against each other in grueling acting challenges, all while facing the grim prospect of elimination every week.
The six actors who made the final cut in Season 2 were:
South Africa
Farrell Drew
Hendrick Lombard
Jesse Suntele
Marilyn Sekgapane
Sabelo Sibeko
Shamilla Miller
Simhle Belinda Plaatjies
Kenya
Alex Khayo
Lorreine Wangui Gakuo
Nigeria
Ifeanyi Dike
Tobechi Nneji
Uriel Oputa
Zikhona Sodlaka returns to host the second season.
Season 2 Finalists
Alex Khayo
Age: 27
From: Nairobi, Kenya
Before becoming an actor, Alex worked in marketing for a mobile phone company in Kenya. After being offered a role from a previous audition he went on to join Jicho Four productions, one of the leading stage play productions in Kenya. He continued doing marketing for various groups using his marketing skills, and subsequently ran into a Kenyan TV producer who offered him a minor role in the TV series Angel's Diary.
Farrell Drew
Age: 24
From: Pietermaritzburg, South Africa
Farrell’s passion for acting first started in a drama class. A student in Drama and Production at the Durban University of Technology, he heard about the Top Actor Africa auditions via Facebook and managed to get his lecturers to move his exams forward so he could make it onto the show once he had heard he had been chosen.
Hendrick Lombard
Age: 20
From: Pretoria, South Africa
After various different jobs and failed relationships, Hendrick decided to try his hand at acting. He has landed numerous roles as an extra and featured extra and had a small role in Resident Evil. After winning a part as a featured extra in a South African soapie, he decided that acting was the life for him. He has no formal acting training.
Ifeanyi Dike
Age: 26
From: Lagos, Nigeria
Ifeanyi started his acting career in 2012 on the Nigerian soapie Tinsel, where he discovered his passion for acting. He feels that it is a powerful medium to get a message across and to assist people. Ifeanyi has been seen on MTV Base in the role of Michael in the drama series Shuga.
Jesse Suntele
Age: 23
From: Johannesburg, South Africa
Jesse studied sound engineering but discovered a love of acting during his participation in numerous school plays. After landing the first professional audition he went to, he realised that he had a genuine talent for acting. He has gone on to act in numerous commercials and appeared as Kabelo on the e.tv soapie Ashes to Ashes. He also had a role on Generations and was in the Top 100 of the reality show U Can Do It. He has no formal acting training.
Lorreine Wangui Gakuo
Age: 23
From: Kenya
Lorraine’s first dramatic role at school was the part of Anna in The King and I. After school she studied International Business Administration, specialising in marketing and minoring in Japanese language. She studied French at school and also has passion for language. She chose Japanese because she found it unique, disciplined and polite. She has been a provincial swimmer for her country. She has no formal acting training.
Marilyn Sekgapane
Age: 23
From: Kroonstad, South Africa
Former accountancy student Marilyn always had a passion for acting, and remembers acting and singing in front of her family from an early age. No formal acting training.
Sabelo Sibeko
Age: 23
From: Johannesburg, South Africa
Sport was always the main event for soccer player Sabelo, who played for Jomo Cosmos. Always keen on acting, Sabelo sees landing a spot in the Top 12 as a huge opportunity for him to follow his dream. He has no formal acting training.
Shamilla Miller
Age: 27
From: Cape Town, South Africa
Shamilla is a graduate of Live Performance and Film from AFDA who has had the opportunity to work with the likes of David Kramer and Alfred Rietman and has acted in numerous international and local commercials. She has also had cameo roles on a few international and local films.
Simhle Belinda Plaatjies
Age: 22
From: Cape Town, South Africa
Simhle has always loved having an audience. Her passion for performance started at a very young age, when she went to acting classes at the Baxter Theatre. While the other children were hanging about during break she would be creating choreography and dancing with her friends for fun.
Tobechi Nneji
Age: 28
From: Lagos, Nigeria
Tobechi studied for a BSc in Economics at the Madonna University in Nigeria before working in several states across Nigeria as a radio presenter. He has no formal acting training.
Uriel Oputa
Age: 29
From: Nigeria
Uriel first got involved in drama at school and loves being on stage. She has spent her life singing and has produced a few house tracks that have played on radio in Nigeria. She lives in Nigeria and makes a living creating wigs and making music. She has no formal acting training.