Actor Jesse Suntele Photo: Itumeleng English Actor Jesse Suntele Photo: Itumeleng English
The tweets bordered on the disturbing. From the suspect “Arrest us, we are your criminals” to the macabre “Serial murder us, we are your victims”, women on Twitter seemed to have lost their minds over a young cop/serial killer called Tuelo on the Mzansi Magic telenovela The Queen.
The man bringing this character to life is Top Actor winner Jesse Suntele, who has dominated social media trend lists since his debut on the Ferguson production.
He describes himself as “happy go lucky kind of guy” who is not quick to anger.
He laughs when I bring up the picture that caused such a stir on Twitter as he recalls how other people thought he was a cop.
In the picture, posted on Instagram, he is wearing an SAPS uniform, posing next to a police van, with what looks vaguely like a crime scene behind him. The picture was taken on set and although it is true for Tuelo, it couldn't be further away from Jesse's reality.
“I could never be a cop. I do not think I am brave enough for that. But I really respect the men and women that do that job daily,” he says.
Suntele was born to a Xhosa mother and Tswana father in Joburg and grew up in Bloemfontein. He was raised by his single mother and has two siblings. School was a breeze for the actor who – in addition to getting straight A’s – played chess, hockey, soccer, swam, danced and wrote lyrics on the side.
The most petite boy in his class for four years, he was considered “cute” by admiring girls.
A qualified sound engineer, he says his acting calling has not always been so loud.
He started off modelling and had a few commercial gigs. It was during that time that the acting bug bit and he entered the Top Actor talent search, which he won.
He considers his talents as his mother's blessing and aspires to change her life by being successful in all he does.
“My mom had big dreams, but she never had the time or the resources to chase those dreams.
“But I think that God recognises all the hard work she has put into our lives and sometimes God blesses you though other people,” he says.
Many young women flock to his Instagram page daily to see what he is up to and whether he has posted a new shirtless picture of himself. But many do not know that we have the hip-hop talent show VuzuHustle to thank for Jesse's presence on the photo/video sharing social network in the first place.
The aspiring rapper created his Instagram account specifically so that he could enter the rapping competition. He sent in his video entry five minutes before the deadline and believes that that may have contributed to why he did not progress.
His first love was poetry, but as he matured, so did his passion for music.
“Funny enough, I still remember the first poem I recited to a public crowd.
“It was back in Grade six and it went: ‘If love was crime, I'd be doing time from 1999 to 2045. If love were a teardrop, I'd be crying rivers. If love was a friend. I'd be chilling with my niggas'.”
Despite his acting success, Suntele hasn't given up on music.
He realises that, by virtue of Tuelo’s fame, he may be better known to many as the actor that later tried to rap, but he emphasises that he fell in love with music first.
“What I would like to be is a jack of all trades but a master of one; I would like to master my music. But I want to ensure that by the time people hear my music, there is no doubt that I am good at what I do!”
The Queen is screened from Mondays to Thursday on Mzansi Magic, channel 161, DStv.
