Acting

Presley Chweneyagae

Born — Died

1984-10-19 — 2025-05-27

Place of birth

Soweto, Transvaal, South Africa

Known for

Acting

Credits

14 titles

Presley Chweneyagae (October 19, 1984 — May 27, 2025) was a South African actor best known for his breakthrough lead role in Tsotsi (2005). Chweneyagae went into acting at an early age, taking acting classes from the age of 10. His first major role proved to be a history-making one, securing the part of David, aka Tsotsi, in Gavin Hood’s searing 2005 crime drama Tsotsi. In the film, set in a Johannesburg township, Chweneyagae plays a small-time hoodlum who steals a car, only to discover a baby in the back seat that causes him to change his ways. Tsotsi was a huge hit with critics, with praise especially for Chweneyagae’s performance. The film was nominated for a Golden Globe and an Academy…

Known for

Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom poster
6.9

A chronicle of Nelson Mandela's life journey from his childhood in a rural village through to his inauguration as the first democratically elected president of South Africa.

Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom

2013

Tsotsi poster
6.9

A young South African boy from the Johannesburg ghetto named Tsotsi, meaning Gangster, leaves home as a child to get away from his helpless parents. Now a teenage thug, Tsotsi finds a baby in the back seat of a car he's just stolen. He decides that it is his responsibility to care for the infant and in the process learns that maybe the criminal life isn’t the best way.

Tsotsi

2005

iNumber Number: Jozi Gold poster
5.7

When an undercover cop is tasked with investigating a historic gold heist in Johannesburg, he’s forced to choose between his conscience and the law.

iNumber Number: Jozi Gold

2023

Zama Zama poster
NR

In South Africa's gold-mining region is the subterranean dimension of the Zama Zama, illegal miners that make a living by mining the ore in both operational and abandoned mine shafts. "Zama Zama" is the personal narrative of two brothers: Malcolm, a successful businessman in the mining industry; and his long-lost brother Joseph, one of those who work in the underground tunnels--playing off against the tension of the mines' punitive actions against these miners.

Zama Zama

2012

The River poster
5.0

A diamond discovery in the river running between the poor township of Refilwe and the affluent neighbourhood of Silver Lakes quickly turns from a blessing to a curse.

The River

2018

Africa United poster
6.2

The extraordinary story of three Rwandan children who attempt to realize the dream of their life: to attend the opening ceremony of the FIFA World Cup 2010 at Johannesburg.

Africa United

2010

Film credits

2010s · 7 titles

Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom poster
6.9

A chronicle of Nelson Mandela's life journey from his childhood in a rural village through to his inauguration as the first democratically elected president of South Africa.

Mandela: Long Walk to Freedom

2013

Zama Zama poster
NR

In South Africa's gold-mining region is the subterranean dimension of the Zama Zama, illegal miners that make a living by mining the ore in both operational and abandoned mine shafts. "Zama Zama" is the personal narrative of two brothers: Malcolm, a successful businessman in the mining industry; and his long-lost brother Joseph, one of those who work in the underground tunnels--playing off against the tension of the mines' punitive actions against these miners.

Zama Zama

2012

Africa United poster
6.2

The extraordinary story of three Rwandan children who attempt to realize the dream of their life: to attend the opening ceremony of the FIFA World Cup 2010 at Johannesburg.

Africa United

2010

Avenged poster
5.6

When Chili Ncgobo, an honest but ambitious undercover cop, is cheated out of a major reward by his corrupt superiors, he infiltrates a cash-in-transit heist gang, and instead of busting them, he decides to participate in a one off score. He must face off against his partner who refuses to let him do it and one of the gang members who recognizes him as a cop.

Avenged

2014

The Number poster
NR

After a young protégé's murder confirms a prison gang leader's growing misgivings about his life inside, he joins a reform-minded warden's efforts to improve the prison, eyeing it as a path to early release. Gaining fulfillment and self-worth, he becomes a valued partner in the new changes before explosive gang resistance forces a deadly choice between the gangster he is and the changing man he knows he now is.

The Number

2017

State of Violence poster
7.0

When the wife of a successful black businessman with roots in the struggle against apartheid is murdered by a young stranger who knows his name, he has to go back into his own past to find the answers that will lead him to the killer. But when he finds him and the reasons for the murder, will vengeance still be possible?

State of Violence

2010

No artwork available
7.5

A young man put in a moral dilemma is forced to choose between saving his dying pregnant wife or going against his beliefs.

The Gentleman

2011

2000s · 3 titles

Series credits

Behind the camera