Leroy Gopal (born 6 July 1979), is a Zimbabwe-born South African actor, comedian and a voice artist.[1][2] He is best known for his roles in the films Yellow Card and Strike Back.[3][4]

Leroy Gopal
Born
Leroy Gopal

(1979-07-06) July 6, 1979 (age 45)
NationalityZimbabwean
Other namesFit Man
EducationGlen View High School
Hartzell High School
Alma materAFDA, The School for the Creative Economy
Occupation(s)Actor, voice artist
Years active1986–present
Height1.87 m (6 ft 2 in)
SpouseKeletso Molefe (m. 2017)
Children3
AwardsBest Comedian

Personal life

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He was born on 6 July 1979 in Harare, Zimbabwe.[5] When Gopal was 14 years old, his father died. He has one elder sister, Claudia Gopal Muvuti is the former title holder of the Iron Woman Zimbabwe.. He completed primary education from Blackiston Primary School and then secondary education from Gateway High School and Prince Edward Senior School.[3] He has a BA (Honors) degree in Live Performance and Motion Picture from AFDA, The School for the Creative Economy.[4] He is one of two students to ever win the prestigious M-NET Student Of The Year award 2003 and 2004 consecutively.[1]

Gopal is married to South African, Keletso Molefe since 2017.[6] The couple has three children: Kiki Leroy Gopal, Didi Tadiwa, and Mimi Naima.[3]

Career

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In 2000, he made his maiden cinema appearance with the film Yellow Card where he played the lead role of soccer player 'Tiyane Tsumba'. From 2006 to 2007, he played the role 'Thabang Ngema' on the SABC 3 soap opera One Way which became highly popular.[4] In 2012, he appeared in SABC 1's sitcom, Ses'Top La in the role as 'Oleshe'. In 2013, he won the award for the Best Actor in a comedy role at South African Film and Television Awards for this role.[5] With the success and established as an accomplished actor, he was hired to act in the TV series Mzansi Love: Kasi Style in 2013. His role was a Kenyan man named 'Joshua Pembe'.[3] He also acted in the short Through the Flight of a feather which was screened at the Cannes Film Festival as well.[1]

In the same year, he acted in the film Seal Team 8 as a Congolese dictator 'Tonga'. Then he made the appearance on TV series Mzansi Magic with the role 'Abomama' which became a popular character throughout the series.[4] In 2014, he played in the SABC1 political series Ihawu le Sizwe. He later founded 'Creation Station Entertainment Company'. Leroy also directed a Zimbabwean music video for the singer Audius Mtawarira.[3]

Filmography

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Year Film Role Genre Ref.
Through the Flight of a Feather Film
Smart Rewards Ride Show TV series
1986 Paraffin TV series
1993 Generations Jackson TV series
1996 Adventure Unlimited Film
1998 Choose Freedom Film
2000 Yellow Card Tiyane Tsumba Film
2003 Scarred Instinct Chidzonga Short film
2004 Four Days Joe Short film
2004 Cut Skinny Short film
2005 Binnelanders TV series
2005 Hush Felix TV series
2006 Backstage Duma TV series
2006 One Way Thabang Ngema TV series
2007 Andre Metstrepie Dave Short film
2007 Home Affairs Remy TV series
2007 Jacob's Cross Jacab's Lawyer TV series
2008 Surprise! Zeb Agent Film
2009 Siren's Feast Film
2010 Hola Mpinji Doctor Chinyamurindi TV mini-series
2010 Night Drive Tafadzwa Film
2011 Mzansi Love Home Affairs TV series
2012 The Way T TV series
2012 Ses'Top La TV series
2013 Strike Back Medical Orderly TV series
2013 Zabalaza TV series
2013 The Game Fact Show TV series
2013 The Lost Diaries of Livingstone Arbian Slave Trader Film
2014 Seal Team Eight: Behind Enemy Lines General Ntonga Film
2014 Check-Coast TV series
2014 Kite Doctor Film
2014 Ihawu le Sizwe TV series
2015 Making A Killing Bosco Short film
2016 The Crisis Caravan Seleka Sergeant Film
2017 Harry's Game Tanner Film
2017 Revolt Jeandre Film [7]
2017 Happy Family Detective Mpilo TV series
2017 All About Love Film
2017 It's OK We're Family TV series
2017 The Wall Film
2018 Ice N'Koulou Film
2018 Beautifully Broken Matisse Film
2018 Mzansi Love: Kasi Style TV series
2018 Abomama TV series [8]
2019 #Karektas TV series
2019 Jozi-H Red Cake - Not the Cooking Show TV series
2019 Blackout Journalist Short film

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Leroy Gopal: Personal Biography:". legends. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  2. ^ "Leroy Gopal: Born: 1980". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 27 October 2020. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  3. ^ a b c d e "Leroy Gopal biography". briefly. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  4. ^ a b c d "Leroy Gopal bio". TVSA. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  5. ^ a b "Leroy Gopal". pindula. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  6. ^ "Leroy Gopal ties the knot". newsday. Retrieved 24 October 2020.
  7. ^ "Revolt". Movie Insider. movieinsider.com. Retrieved 7 January 2018.
  8. ^ Zeeman, Kyle (3 January 2019). "This is how Abomama brought scandal to church". TimesLIVE. Retrieved 13 July 2019.
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