He'll make you sit up and say, "wow."

Not even the somewhat unnerving location of a Khayelitsha township could hinder the ease I felt around Lusindiso. His charm and ability to ward off unpleasant visitors while on the set of Salvation Street really captured not only me but also stole the affection of some eager bystanders. By the time we got around to the actual interview, I felt as if I was speaking to an old friend, an endlessly fascinating, old friend.

“I’m all yours,” he says before climbing into my car.

Professional actor, Lusindiso Thyulu, knew what he wanted to do from a young age, “this sounds cliché but I loved watching TV when I was a little boy and there came a stage where I’d come across something that fascinated me and I’d literally walk to my mom’s room, look in the mirror and imitate what I saw.” His first big break came around when he was still in primary school, the Baxter Theatre had a program running called Bax Kids and Lusindiso was asked to fill in for one of his friends. As expected, they loved him and asked him to stay on. A few years later he received a call explaining that the show had been revamped and now went by, City at Bax and they wanted him for the part, “I didn’t know this but it was the beginning of something for me… and I started to mingle with the who’s who of the theatre industry. It was luck and a privilege to work with them.”

Speaking to Lusindiso, it was hard to keep from getting involved in his excitement about his achievements and future plans; everything he spoke about was accompanied by big hand gestures and an infectious smile.

He went straight from City at Bax to studying at Cityvarsity and during his first year he played a cameo role in the popular drama series, Jacob’s Cross. “When you’re passionate about it, you just want to be involved in everything” and he agrees that Cityvarsity gave him the advantage he needed but explained that, “you’ve got to have the talent and they just nurture it.” He speaks of his fondest moment being able to work with his childhood idol, Joe Mafela.

Lusindiso’s plans for now involve him being in a drama series called Verdict and also taking a previous stage production him and fellow classmates performed last year in Grahamstown, to the Out the Box festival this year.

And as for his future, he sees himself being an established director as well as owning his own production company and like most actors, he simply cannot stomp the possibility of going to Hollywood one day.

“Anyone out there can act but you need something that will distinguish you from the rest, something that will make the casting director sit up and say, “okay, wow. This is different,” when you enter the audition room.”