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Johannesburg – After weeks of anticipation, BET has finally crowned the winner of Top Actor Africa!
On Tuesday BET (DSTV channel 129) aired the final episode of the show which saw Jesse Suntele walk away with the prize. Suntele, a sound engineer graduate from Cosmo City, Johannesburg, beat out fellow contestants Shamilla Miller, and Alex Khayo in a nail-biting finale.
The Juice sat down with Jesse to find more about what makes him a Top Actor.
How did you celebrate your win?
I haven’t really thought about celebrations yet. I’m sort of in a state where it doesn’t seem like it’s something I need to celebrate yet. Now is the time for me to prove that I deserve the win.
What was the most difficult part of the competition?
I think, first of all, not knowing what criteria the winner will be chosen against. Everyday we asked ourselves what it is that these people might want in order to move on to the next stage. That was very difficult for us, figuring our whether or not we’re good enough.
Was there ever a moment when you felt you wanted to quit?
Shakespeare week.
What kept you going?
The inspiration behind almost everything I do. I have two reasons for everything I do: one is to change my mothers life, and two is to make my father proud.
How has this experience changed you?
It’s opened my eyes to how fickle the industry is to a certain extent. You don’t realise how much hard work goes into making a career out of this.
Which movie genre do you prefer?
I did really well in comedy week and I feel like I did really well in action week. So I think those are the two genres I’d like to go into more than anything else.
What is one lesson you’ve learned from Top Actor Africa that you will carry with for the rest of your career?
I think another thing that I’ve learned from the competition is that anything is possible.
