It's almost time for Tumisho Masha to make his debut on Scandal!.
He was signed to the
role of Hector in October this year and arrives on Tuesday, 15 December, with an intense and dangerous need for jussssstice.
I caught up with Tumisho in between filming to get his take on what we can expect and to find out what life is like for him right now:
Tashi: We know that Hector's a rival to Lucas and that he’s Naledi’s father. What else can you tell us about him?
Tumisho: He’s also a man who’s lost his son. That’s actually the premise of why he comes to the show. He’s looking for justice for the death of his son. He feels that Lucas and the Nyathi’s were responsible because they sold drugs in prison and those drugs are the drugs that killed his son.
Tashi: Would you describe him as a hero or a villain?
Tumisho: Time will tell. The story builds and the character builds. We’ll see whether he’s actually a hero or villain, whether he’s just a man who’s been pushed too far or if he’s a man who wants to push things too far to get what he believes is justice for his son, when it’s actually revenge instead.
That’s something that Hector struggles with - getting that justice for his son but without going over the boundaries he’s set for himself in terms of what’s right and wrong.
Tashi: What are the similarities between you?
Tumisho: We have a similar taste for the finer things in life. Also, his passion for his children and for what is a good cause. He’s willing to put in his everything to fight for a good cause. He’s prepared to risk everything for what he believes in. Those are things we most have in common.
Tashi: And the biggest difference?
Tumisho: He’s a very distant person. He’s one of those people who doesn’t ever want to wear his heart on his sleeve and I think that it is exactly what has gotten him into the situation. Maybe he needs to look at himself and do some introspection. Also, getting to a point of forgiveness - maybe I’ve never been in that position so I don’t know, but sometimes things take care of themselves and you’ve got to be okay with that.
Tashi: And he’s obviously not.
Tumisho: No, he’s not.
In between takes on set.
Tashi: What’s been the biggest challenge of playing him?
Tumisho: Finding that person who’s put a big wall round his heart and he’s so driven by this need for justice and retribution that he forgets the rest of life going on around him. He’s definitely forgotten his daughter Naledi and how important that relationship is and he’s even forgotten about his own business. He’s made his whole business about getting the Nyathi’s.
Tashi: I suppose that’s especially difficult for you now because you’ve just recently had a baby.
Tumisho: Yes, a baby girl, so I don’t know how he could do that because she’s my everything.
Tumisho's wife Zozibini
Tumisho: I’ve had to really cut down on how many events I go to now - I can’t go to every single event that happens in Joburg anymore. I have to choose how I’m going about this career of mine which is very much in the limelight and being okay with dropping back a little and letting other people do that sort of thing now.
Just doing the fundamentals of what I do which is acting and doing my business and that sort of thing. All the other things, the frills, I just have to let them go for a bit because this is a very important time in her development. When she’s a little bit older and she’s a bit bigger, ja, we’ll do it again. In the meantime, I’m just trying to take as much time as I can to enjoy time with her.
Tashi: What are you doing for Christmas?
Tumisho: We’re probably going to be in Joburg, at home and we’re going to have the family over. That’s what we really want to do, have a quiet December. It’s been a very heavy year for us, my wife and I, workwise and also having a baby in the middle of all our other commitments.
Right now we just want to relax, we just want to enjoy the end of the year without having to do anything for a bit. I’ll be trying to do as little as possible, I’m going to just close shop.