Paballo Koza (born March 19, 2002) is a South African

actor An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

influencer A social media influencer, or simply influencer (also known as an online influencer), is a person who builds a grassroots online presence through engaging content such as photos, videos, and updates. This is done by using direct audience intera ...

entrepreneur Entrepreneurship is the creation or extraction of economic value in ways that generally entail beyond the minimal amount of risk (assumed by a traditional business), and potentially involving values besides simply economic ones. An entreprene ...

and tv presenter. He is best known for his notable roles in

Mzansi Magic Mzansi Magic is a South African digital satellite and general entertainment channel created by Multichoice and run by M-Net's local interest division, and is broadcast on DStv. History The channel launched in mid-July 2010 on channel 107 as ...

popular telenovela series as Khaya in '' The Queen'' and ''Housekeeper'' as Mtho. He began acting at age 5 and later received an Africa Movie Academy Award nomination for Best Young Actor for his starring role in '' Dora's Peace''.

Early life

Koza was born on 19 March 2002, in

Johannesburg Johannesburg ( , , ; Zulu language, Zulu and Xhosa language, Xhosa: eGoli ) (colloquially known as Jozi, Joburg, Jo'burg or "The City of Gold") is the most populous city in South Africa. With 5,538,596 people in the City of Johannesburg alon ...

, South Africa. He was helped by his maternal grandmother to get an acting agency which got him the commercial role that got him noticed. He attended the

New York Film Academy New York Film Academy – School of Film and Acting (NYFA) is a Private college, private For-profit higher education in the United States, for-profit film school and Drama school, acting school based in New York City, Los Angeles metropolitan ar ...

after passing his matric and also graduated at National School of Arts where he studied Dramatic Arts.

Career

2007-2015: Career beginnings

Koza started acting at age five by acting in a commercial. Since then, he's been in a number of other

commercials A television advertisement (also called a commercial, spot, break, advert, or ad) is a span of television programming produced and paid for by an organization. It conveys a message promoting, and aiming to market, a product, service or idea. ...

and has acted in a variety of television shows and movies. He made his first acting debut in 2014 where he played the role of Shoni Makwarela in

SABC 2 SABC 2 is a South African free-to-air television channel owned by the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC). The channel was createdin its current form on 4 February 1996, due to the restructuring of the three national SABC networks. As ...

drama ''Thola'' and short film ''The Blanket'' as Mandla. In 2015, he made his appearance in

e.tv e.tv (commonly referred to on-air as e) is the first and only privately owned free-to-air television station in South Africa. Founded in 1998, the company is headquartered in Cape Town. It is the fifth terrestrial television channel in the ...

as Zama in Rhythm City. Later, he played a role of Umfaan in a comedian short drama '' Skorokoro''.

2016-2022: Breakthrough and ''Dora's Peace''

Koza bagged a starring role of Peace in a popular South African film '' Dora's Peace'' along Khabonina Qubeka. He appeared in

drama series '' The Queen'' as Khaya Khoza from 2016 to 2021. In 2017, he played the main role of Moagi in a drama ''Easy Money'' and ''The Imposter'' season 1 as Themba. Koza's career in acting had been successfully as he won several awards including

Africa Movie Academy Awards The Africa Movie Academy Awards is an annual entertainment award ceremony presented to recognize excellence among African and non-African professionals, who have contributed to the African film industry. The award was founded by Peace Anyiam-Osig ...

for his role in Dora's Peace at the age of 14. By 2018, he appeared in three television drama series such as ''Housekeepers'' as the lead cast Mtho from 2018 to 2022, ''Isithembiso'' season 2 as a supporting cast portraying as Junior's friend and

SABC 1 SABC 1 is a South African public television network operated by the South African Broadcasting Corporation (SABC). It broadcasts programming in English and Nguni languages. SABC 1 was established in 1996 following the SABC's restructuring of it ...

comedy ''Thandeka's Diary'' as Themba. In 2020, he played the support role as Dombollo in

BET Black Entertainment Television (BET) is an American basic cable channel targeting Black American audiences. It is the flagship channel of the BET Media Group, a subsidiary of Paramount Global's CBS Entertainment Group. Originally launched ...

telenovela ''Isono'' and appeared in

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

drama series '' Riding with Sugar'' as Vetkoek. In 2022, he played the crime/drama series ''Amandla'' as Phakiso.

2023-present: ''Classified'' and ''Playroom Live''

In 2023, Koza bagged the main role in ''Classified'' as Lolo. By 2024, he was the presenter in kids show ''Playroom live''.

Filmography

Television

Film

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Koza, Paballo 2002 births Living people South African male television actors South African male film actors 21st-century South African male actors Social media influencers