Actor and musician Phila Madlingozi is excited to return to the small screen as he just landed a role in the upcoming telenovela, Gqeberha: The Empire.

Madlingozi nearly lost hope in his acting career following a stint with Rhythm City before it was scrapped, saying he thanked his late mother.

The former Muvhango star reflects on auditioning for his new role and told Drum that it took about four months before he got the call of his dreams.

“I drove to Port Elizabeth with Ayanda for the auditions. I had just buried my mother and I was not okay,” he said.

“So I went back to Johannesburg [afterwards]. In fact, they took so long to cast, like about four months, and I was like maybe I didn’t even get the job so I moved on to other things.”

While he was at his home preparing for a music gig, he says he finally received a phone call to do a screen test. 

“I think I dropped my phone. I couldn’t even hear them I was like ‘huh?’ I couldn’t believe them until I got the email from my agents they were like ‘Phila, we booked it.’ I was, like, ‘Booked what? ‘GTE (Gqeberha the Empire).’ I was so excited,” he added.

“I said thank you, doll.”

As he will work with the likes of Zikhona Sodlaka among others, Phila felt at home again when he learned that he will be reuniting with industry greats.

“It was like a reunion. I’ve worked with Zikhona before, and Zandile (Msutwana) many times. I’ve also worked with Ayanda, so as soon as I found out that they are all part of the show, I was, like, ‘welcome back’,” continued the musician.

“My last big show was Isikizi and that was in 2016 and between that and now I did a lot of small things from Rhythm City, The Queen, but this feels like Intersections all over again because that’s where I blew up. It feels like I’ve just begun.”

Gqeberha: The Empire was launched at The Boardwalk Hotel on Sunday and the weekday telenovela will replace The Queen on Mzansi Magic from January 16.

Main Image: Phila Madlingozi/Celeb Gossip News