After weeks of negotiations and trying to find a solution, e-TV has decided not to renew Zolisa Xaluva’s contract on the telenovela, Smoke & Mirrors. After reports that Zolisa had been fired by the production company following a “money-related dispute” with the production, he told ZiMoja that he had not been fired and that he was close to finalizing his season two contractual negotiations.
Zolisa had been waiting for his fate on whether he would continue to season two. He confirmed this to ZiMoja but after a lot of back and forth a decision was made not to renew his contract. “Some might call it being fired but his contract is not being renewed.
The company wants him to work only for them and not on other productions and he was challenging that clause in the contract,” an e-TV insider said. “He knows his worth, which to some people may seem arrogant, but he is a gentleman, and he is not desperate. The company didn’t agree to some of his terms, and they parted ways, simple as that.”
Taking the role of ruthless businessman, Caesar who Zolisa played skillfully, is experienced actor Hlomla Dandala. An insider told ZiMoja that Hlomla will start shooting for season two. “He is not coming in as another ruthless character who kills Caesar. He is coming in as Caesar Ngonyama and taking over from Zolisa. Tricky ne?” the insider reveals. “He will be playing the role of Caesar and people will always try and compare them. That is something we need to prepare ourselves for.” Hlomla left The River where he played the role of a police commissioner Zweli Dikana after he felt his role had changed in a way that was no longer serving his passion for acting. “What tends to happen, with any career, if you stay in any character for too long, it’s very hard to switch from it then or to be seen in any other way,” he said in an interview. “If you’ve established yourself as a leading man and you play something that establishes you as being quite weaker, if you don’t get out of that quickly enough, it gets harder and harder.” He felt it was hindering his growth. “I was happy with the character for a long, long time, and then after a while, we started drifting further and further apart in terms of creativity, and then it reached a point where I said I needed to manage my career,” he said. “Part of that is I don’t want to get stuck in a situation that I don’t want to be in the long term. It starts to harm your future as an actor.