MAN ON A MISSION

With age, comes wisdom. And with the right ingredients: some serious confidence. Turning 40 has been a landmark moment for Thapelo Mokoena who is getting ready to reap the real rewards of more than 20 years in the industry. Here's how farm life, fatherhood and the film industry have helped him build a new legacy.

- KIERAN LEGG 

"What the fuck do you think you’re doing?” Thapelo Mokoena asks. His relaxed demeanour has shifted, he’s sitting upright and his eyes brim with a fierce energy. Up until now, he’s been reclining on the couch at the luxury hotel, sipping on a cappuccino as he takes me on a crash course of how he’s developed his craft.

Fortunately, I haven’t pissed him off—it’s Exhibit A of the type of powerful performance he’s capable of delivering in front of the camera—but that quick flick of the switch, a vanishing act where the cool, calm and collected Mokoena is replaced by a tough, grizzled, no-nonsense villain is suddenly disconcerting. He smiles, breaking character and I feel at ease. “I feel like I can draw that energy from my core,” he says. “Having a powerful core, an engine to draw from lets me inject something extra into my performance.”

It’s only recently that he’s had an epiphany about the connection between his reps and his acting. He’s always been a committed gymgoer, fitting in grueling sessions after 10 to 14 hours on set— even now at the age of 40. “Fitness teaches you about your core,” he says. “That’s where all your strength comes from, right here,” he stops to tap his mid-section, “It determines how you carry yourself, how you stand and so I’ve sort of linked this physicality to everything I do in the arts.”