Hlomla Dandala reveals the pain of isolation and being called a 'coconut' on the set of 'Isidingo: The Need'

Hlomla Dandala has opened up about the struggles of fitting in as an actor on the set of the South African soapie, "Isidingo: The Need".

In a candid conversation with award-winning actress Dawn Thandeka King on the "Inside Story Network" for an episode titled "Inside Acting" on YouTube, the pair explored themes of acting, identity, and navigating real-life divorce while simultaneously portraying characters facing similar emotional turmoil on screen.

Dandala shared his experiences as a multilingual actor without a background in political history or struggle theatre.

The actor, who speaks five languages - Afrikaans, English, IsiXhosa, Sesotho and IsiZulu - expressed the challenges he faced in the entertainment industry.

“In South Africa, if you do one language, you can't speak the other ones. Yeah, that's the rule. If you do something in English, they say, ‘ah he doesn’t know indigenous languages’. And then you go and do something in isiZulu, and they say ‘oh akasazi isiNgisi akasazi isiXhosa’ (he doesn’t know English or isiXhosa), and I’ve always been battling that,” said Dandala.

Reflecting on his time on "Isidingo", Dandala revealed, “So with 'Isidingo', you know, I come in, and we do the thing, but I had actually auditioned for Tsepho’s character, Parsons… So Kurt Egeloff went and said, no.”

Instead, he was given the script for Derek Nyathi, a businessman married to a white woman, and landed the role.

However, life on the set of the multi-award-winning soap opera was not a walk in the park.

“The interesting thing is, then the experience of it. With the guys, yes, we were working together, but they had this thing, and they would call me oyimbo, which basically means coconut,” he stated.

This term contributed to his feelings of loneliness and isolation during the production of the show.

“I was very much alone throughout 'Isidingo'. Very much alone. During lunch, you know how set lunches are: white folk eat by themselves, black folk eat by themselves, and so I was a black folk that couldn't sit with black folk because I spoke ‘that English’.

"And I couldn't quite sit with the white folk because white folk are doing their thing. And so I spent the bulk (of my time on 'Isidingo') sitting alone. Any time I would engage, I’d be chased away and told to leave because I was a coconut.”

The term "coconut" is used to describe a person who is “black on the outside” but “white on the inside.”

This term gained popularity in South Africa during the final days of apartheid as black children entered formerly white schools.

At best, coconuts can be seen as “non-white”; at worst, they are labelled “Uncle Toms” or “agents of whiteness.”

"Isidingo: The Need" was a pioneering soapie that aired from 1998 to 2020, set in the fictional mining town of Horizon Deep. The show explored the intersection of life, power, and politics among workers and management in a new post-apartheid South Africa.

It served as a socially conscious "edutainment" programme, addressing taboo issues such as HIV/AIDS, interracial relationships and sexual harassment.

Following his role on the show, Dandala continued to make significant contributions to the entertainment industry.

His career has included notable roles, such as Jacob Makhubu in "Jacob's Cross" and hosting the reality dating show "All You Need Is Love" from 2002 to 2003.

He starred in the drama series "Rockville" as Gomorrah, the main antagonist of the third season, and in e.tv's prime-time soap opera "Scandal!" as Kingsley Siseko Langa. 

Dandala also starred in The River alongside Sindi Dlathu (who plays Lindiwe) as her husband, Commissioner Zweli Dikana.