Five minutes with rising star Toka Mtabane on Showmax’s Youngins

Following his debut in the acclaimed film Five Fingers For Marseilles in 2016, when he was a teenager, Toka Mtabane has made a comeback on Showmax in Youngins, the first teen drama series.

The 22-year-old actor plays the role Khaya Jali, a handsome and popular guy at school, who is dismal when it comes to academics and has a tumultuous family life.

He chats about his role in the series:

How would you describe your character Khaya?

Khaya is not the sharpest tool in the shed but what I like about him is that he follows his gut. He’s an impulsive guy. Khaya throws himself in the deep end and swims out. He’s that guy.

Were you like Khaya in high school?

Definitely. I was popular with everyone, talented in football and the arts. The only difference is that I was a smart kid. I had good grades. Otherwise we’re quite similar in many ways. 

How did you and Kea ensure Khaya and Buhle had great chemistry on camera?

Kealeboga Masongo and I get along very well. We met at the chemistry test and in between auditions we’d talk about general stuff, which I think made us get along even more. When we finally started working together on Youngins, our chemistry flowed. I think it’s also because we discussed a few things in terms of how far we’d push it. It was something done almost effortlessly. 

What’s the best advice you’ve received from the more seasoned actors on Youngins? 

We had a cast meeting and Loyiso Macdonald said to us: “Always greet the crew.' The advice we received from the older actors was that we shouldn't be difficult people to work with. It’s a long run and you want to build a career you want to be able to sustain. But you don't want to turn yourself into a doormat and have people walk all over you. That’s what they always preach and I think it's very useful advice. It's something I always keep at the back of my head. We read stories about people who come and go, so you try your best not to go in that direction. 

What’s the one thing that made you nervous while on set?

I don’t really get nervous. When I first arrived on set, I made sure I familiarised myself with everyone and read energies. However, sometimes I do get nervous when it’s time to go for a take and make the right choices when it comes to bettering my performance, but for me that's good nerves.

Any memorable moments on set with the younger cast members?

I’ve had a lot of great memories with them. They’re very good folk. I’ve built a lot of great relationships. I had known Ayakha from In The Dark which we did together. The others, such as Thabiso [Ramotshela] and Kea, I’ve been watching them on TV. I was like: ‘These are very talented people and I’d like to work with them.’ When I saw them, I said: ‘Oh yeah, my people. It’s finally happening.’ 

What do you hope viewers take from this show?

South Africans are known to be a very diverse people but there’s a little bit of everyone in the storylines so I feel like it’s going to cater to South Africa as a whole. There’s a lot of characters to hate, there’s a lot of characters to love, there’s a lot of characters you’re going to love to hate. But most importantly, South Africa should take away the fact that people make mistakes and it’s not about the mistakes, it’s about the comebacks. It’s not about what you did, it’s about how you move on from it. It’s a youngins show. Most people have taken decisions in their youth they’re stuck with now. It’s going to shed some light into that in terms of talking to the kids.