South Africa’s first contemporary Western series, Outlaws, reaches its nail-biting finale on Wednesday, 17 January 2024.
As Tlali, Keketso Mpitso has been one of the breakout stars from the hit show which follows two families at war: the Zulu, cattle-farming Biyelas and the Basotho, cattle-raiding Ts’eoles.
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KOKETSO MPISTO SPEAKS ABOUT HIS ROLE IN ‘OUTLAWS’
Describing his character, Mpitso says Tlali is “unpredictable”.
“He’s a guy who just wants to do things on his own terms. You’d swear that he listened to you but he doesn’t. He’s a person who reacts quickly to situations.
“He’s a very ambitious person. I think he wants to achieve a lot of things and he doesn’t really think. When he wants to do something, he wants to do it at that moment. Whenever he’s mind is made up, no one can convince him otherwise. He just goes for what he wants.,” he explains.
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Mpitso explains that people like Tlali are not hew to him. However, having never played a character like that, he says he was more drawn to it.
“He’s different, and I thought to myself this is going to be a nice challenge for me. So I just went for it,” he says.
Mpitso says Tlali is very different from him.
“I’m an introvert, and he’s more of an extrovert. I’m more calm and he’s just up there.”
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WORKING WITH VETERANS
In Outlaws, the Mpitso acts alongside veterans like Mmabatho Mogomotsi and Siyabonga Shibe
“When I was a kid I grew up watching Mmabatho in Yizo Yizo and Siyabonga Shibe in Gaz’lam. They are like legends to me. So it’s been an honour and a great opportunity. I love them so much. When you get to work with them, it feels amazing. It’s more like a dream come true.”
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One of the things he says he has learnt from them is that, as an actor, you have to stay humble. He shared that both Mogomotsi and Shibe treat everybody equally, and take their work very seriously.
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