John Kani
Age: 80 | From: New Brighton, Port Elizabeth, Sudafrica
Person Details
Birthday: 1943-11-30 06:24:48
Aliases: No known aliases
Gender: Male
Place of birth: New Brighton, Port Elizabeth, Sudafrica
Homepage:
Movie Involvements: 30
TV Involvements: 5
Most Famous Work
Biography
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Bonsile John Kani (born 1943) is a South African actor, director and playwright. He was born in New Brighton, South Africa. Kani joined The Serpent Players (a group of actors whose first performance was in the former snake pit of the zoo, hence the name) in Port Elizabeth in 1965 and helped to create many plays that went unpublished but were performed to a resounding reception. These were followed by the more famous Sizwe Banzi is Dead and The Island, co-written with Athol Fugard and Winston Ntshona, in the early 1970s. He also received an Olivier nomination for his role in My Children My Africa! Kani's work has been widely performed around the world, including New York, where he and Winston Ntshona won a Tony Award in 1975 for Sizwe Banzi Is Dead and The Island. These two plays were presented in repertory at the Edison Theatre for a total of 52 performances. Nothing but the Truth (2002) was his debut as sole playwright and was first performed in the Market Theatre in Johannesburg. This play takes place in post-apartheid South Africa and does not concern the conflicts between whites and blacks, but the rift between blacks who stayed in South Africa to fight apartheid, and those who left only to return when the hated regime folded. It won the 2003 Fleur du Cap Awards for best actor and best new South African play. In the same year he was also awarded a special Obie award for his extraordinary contribution to theatre in the USA. Kani is executive trustee of the Market Theatre Foundation, founder and director of the Market Theatre Laboratory and chairman of the National Arts Council of SA. Description above from the Wikipedia article John Kani, licensed under CC-BY-SA, full list of contributors on Wikipedia.
Most Famous Work
Silent Witness
(1996) Dr. Phiri
The Lion King
(2019) Rafiki (voice)
Play for Today
(1970) George O'Brien
Captain America: Civil War
(2016) King T'Chaka
Mufasa: The Lion King
(2024) Rafiki (voice)
What If...?
(2021) T'Chaka (voice)
Black Panther
(2018) T'Chaka
Marvel Studios Legends
(2021) T'Chaka (archive footage) (uncredited)Acting
| Year | Character | Movie/Tv |
|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Rafiki (voice) | |
| 2023 | Colonel Ulenga | |
| 2021 | Brick (voice) | |
| T'Chaka (voice) | ||
| T'Chaka (archive footage) (uncredited) | ||
| 2019 | Rafiki (voice) | |
| N/A | ||
| Colonel Ulenga | ||
| 2018 | T'Chaka | |
| 2016 | King T'Chaka | |
| 2014 | Narrator | |
| 2012 | N/A | |
| Himself | ||
| 2011 | Julius Twala Snr. | |
| General Cominius | ||
| 2010 | Old Gisani | |
| 2009 | Sipho | |
| Oliver Tambo | ||
| 2008 | Max Khulu | |
| Stone | ||
| 1998 | Bogle | |
| 1997 | Ben | |
| 1996 | Samuel | |
| Dr. Phiri | ||
| 1995 | Dr. Curtis | |
| 1994 | Self | |
| 1992 | N/A | |
| School Principal | ||
| 1990 | N/A | |
| 1989 | Othello | |
| Julius | ||
| Jonas | ||
| 1987 | N/A | |
| Khatana | ||
| 1985 | Willie | |
| 1981 | Moses | |
| Himself | ||
| 1980 | Melton | |
| 1978 | George O'Brien | |
| Sgt. Jesse Blake | ||
| 1974 | N/A | |
| Styles/Buntu | ||
| 1970 | George O'Brien | |
| N/A | ||
| Year | Character | Movie/Tv |
Directing
| Year | Role | Movie/Tv |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Director | |
| Year | Role | Movie/Tv |
Writing
| Year | Role | Movie/Tv |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | Writer | |
| Original Story | ||
| 1974 | Writer | |
| Year | Role | Movie/Tv |