Determined to follow his dream of becoming a national actor, Denzil Booysen, from Kruisfontein in Humansdorp, left his full-time job as a sales manager at a large retailer and relocated to Johannesburg, where he worked hard to make his mark in the entertainment industry, and his most recent role on the Afrikaans drama Arendsvlei will air soon.
After leaving his job six years ago to pursue a career in visual arts, he moved to Johannesburg in 2018 since there were not many opportunities in the Eastern Cape.
Sadly, Booysen said that after many years in the entertainment industry he has found that the Eastern Cape still lacks opportunities for people who are interested in acting and directing.
He said that once he relocated to Johannesburg, he took acting classes and joined workshops with well-known actor, Roderick Jaftha, who acted in multiple South African shows, including Generations: The Legacy.
“I had a few auditions when I first relocated to Johannesburg, but it did not work out since I had no experience in front of the camera. After completing the acting classes, things took a turn and I landed a few TV commercials,” said Booysen.
He said that after his debut appearance on Rhythm City in 2018, he had featured in many other shows thereafter, such as his role as a soldier on 7de Laan, while in 2022 he returned to the show as a detective.
Booysen has also appeared on Getroud met rugby, Scandal, The River, as a lawyer, and Binnelanders as a detective.
In addition to this, he has also featured on a few national commercials such as Isuzu and Flora, and he acted in an Afrikaans film, Yolanda is swanger, which aired on e-tv in 2022 and can be streamed on eVOD, e-tv’s video streaming platform.
Booysen’s latest role will see him play a gang boss who hopes to take revenge against his son’s killers on Arendsvlei.
He said that he has already started filming his introductory scene where he arrives in the Vlei area, but expects his scenes to be aired in a few months’ time since they film at least three months in advance.
“The experience of filming Arendsvlei has been great. It has also been amazing to have professionals, who I have seen on TV daily, respect my craft,” said Booysen.
Since he is from Humansdorp, where many people struggle with very little money and often have to take any job they can find as there are not many options in the area, he is hoping his story will inspire not only the youth but everyone in his community.
He said that a typical example of someone who inspires their community is Springbok fly-half, Manie Libbok, who grew up in Humansdorp.
“Manie changed the mindsets of the youth with his passion for rugby. For many people it feels impossible to do what Manie did, but he made it possible,” said Booysen.
He said that he believes one day they will see more children from his community playing rugby and saying, “I am Manie” or “I am Cheslin Kolbe”.
As previously reported by Kouga Express, with an increase in school drop-outs and unemployment in Humansdorp, Booysen, together with Pastor Marshall Geswint and Llewellyn Breda, established their own film production company, Galaxy Castings, in 2022.
Booysen initially established Galaxy Castings six years ago, and then reinvented the production company last year when a partnership was formed among the three men.
Galaxy Castings will release their debut film soon, titled Kruisfontein – Daar’s ’n slang in die gras, which showcases Booysen as a retired soldier who lost his friend in the war, and is determined to maintain his new farm, Kruisfontein, while remaining committed to taking care of his late friend’s family in his absence.
“As a production company we want to develop more heroes in the Kouga region, and help them make it to national TV. In this way we will be helping more people become great thespians,” said Booysen.
