Presley Chweneyagae is an award-winning South African actor best known for his lead role in the Oscar-winning film Tsotsi. Presley won an award for outstanding performance by a lead actor for his role in Tsotsi at the Black Movie Awards in Los Angeles in 2006. Presley is also known for his role in Mzansi’s telenovela The River. Who could ever forget the film ‘Tsotsi’.
The Presley Chweneyagae Profile Summary
Real Name: Presley Chweneyagae
Gender: Male
Date of birth: 19 October 1984
Place of birth: Pretoria, South Africa
Age: 35 Years
Ethnicity: Black
Nationality: South African
Occupation: Actor, Presenter, Motivational speaker
TV Shows: The River, Tsotsi
Instagram: @presleychweneyagae
Net Worth:R 9 million
Where is Presley Chweneyagae originally from?
Presley Chwenenyagae was born in the North West, in South Africa. However, he is of Tswana origin as his father was from Botswana. Presley was born in a family of three. His mother was a policewoman, and she named him Presley, after her favourite musician Elvis Presley.
Which schools did Presley Chweneyagae attend?
Presley enjoyed acting from a young age, and he used to act in church dramas. His mother, Agnes, noticed his passion, and she enrolled him in several acting classes. Ages later on, sent Presley to a drama school owned by the late Mpumelelo Paul Grootboom, a stage director and play writer. Henceforth, he started doing theatre roles as a teenager before he got a lead role in the Tsotsi movie in 2005, a film that gave him global recognition.
Did Presley Chweneyagae go to jail?
Presley Chweneyagae was arrested in Pretoria for driving with an allegedly fake Ivorian driver’s licence. He was released on bail but later pleaded guilty to a charge of fraud in the Pretoria Magistrate’s Court. Presley Tsotsi was given a fine of R5000 or six months imprisonment; he opted for the fine. This was undoubtedly a major blow to his career.
Tsotsi
In the ward winning film, Tsotsi, Presley Chweneyagae played the leading role of ‘Tsotsi’ and stunned everyone. The film is about armed robbers who attack a woman as she drives into her house. The robbers made a getaway with the car only to realize there was a baby at the back seat. From there onwards, the story gets interesting. Due to his excellent act in the leading role, he received an award for outstanding performance by a lead actor at the Black Movie Awards in Los Angeles in 2006. Shockingly, he beat established actors like Denzel Washington, Cuba Gooding, and Tyrese Gibson to win the award. Subsequently, the film won an Oscar for the best foreign film at the 2006 Academy Awards ceremony.
Which other shows has Presley Chweneyagae featured in?
Presley Tsotsi has featured in a lot of television and film production locally and internationally. His most acclaimed television role is in The River where he plays Cobra. His television and film roles are as follows;
1. Tsotsi as tsotsi (2006)
2. Menda City (2009)
3. Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom (2013)
4. Zama Zama (2013)
5. iNumber NumberTV (2017)
6. More Than Just a Game
7. State of Violence
8. Africa United
9. 90 Plein Street
10. The River as Cobra
How many awards does Presley Chweneyagae have?
Presley Chweneyagae’s debut appearance on Tsotsi gave him a headstart in his career. To date, he has won three prestigious awards for both himself and the productions he featured in. See the list below;
1. Black Movie Award for Outstanding Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role (2006)
2. 78th Academy Awards for Best Foreign Language Film (2006)
3. Golden Horn for his role in The River at the South African Film and Television Awards (SAFTAS)
Presley Chweneyagae Marriage
Presley Tsotsi is a happily married man. Together with his wife, they have two sons namely, Preston and Siya. His wife is a beautiful Swazi woman. Despite what seems to be a perfect marriage,
Presley Chweneyagae Was Allegedly Arrested For Beating Up His Wife!
Recently Presley was arrested for beating up his wife, Presley Chweneyagae who plays the role of Cobra Mokoena on The River was allegedly arrested for assaulting his wife at the beginning of this month. According to reports by the Daily Sun, the incident happened on September 5 where he and his wife had an altercation which saw him detained at the Pretoria North police station on common assault charges.
Chweneyagae said he and his wife had an argument about his car after she refused to give him the car keys as he had to attend to a work commitment. He made it clear that he is not a violent man and that it was the first incident to happen between the couple.
The River
In the award-winning telenovela, ‘the River’, Presley Chweneyagae portrays the character of Cobra. His incredible performance in the River earned him Golden Horn at the South African Film and Television Awards (SAFTAS)
Watch: Cobra Lashes Out – The River
Social Media
Presley is mostly active on Twitter, and he posts about his work and that of the Presley Chweneyagae Foundation. He is also present on Instagram and has a huge following of 80k followers.
https://www.instagram.com/p/CCx128zjWkT/
Presley Chweneyagae Foundation
As a way of giving back to the community, the Tsotsi superstar formed the Presley foundation. It is aimed at helping the poor communities in South Africa using the performing arts. The foundation reaches out to people from disadvantaged places and backgrounds nationwide. In rural areas, they uplift aspiring actors through using workshops and street talks by professional performers. We applaud Presley for inspiring African youths to follow their dreams, work hard, and earn decent lives. He is indeed a ghetto hero.
What is Presley Net worth?
As of 2020, Presley Chweneyagae has a Net worth of R9 million. Presley earns money from his acting career as well as other endorsements and guest appearances.