John Kani

Acting

John Kani

Born

1943-11-30 (82)

Place of birth

New Brighton, Gqeberha, Eastern Cape, South Africa

Known for

Acting

Credits

50 titles

​From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.   Bonsile John Kani (born 1943) is a South African actor, director and playwright. He was born in New Brighton, South Africa. Kani joined The Serpent Players (a group of actors whose first performance was in the former snake pit of the zoo, hence the name) in Port Elizabeth in 1965 and helped to create many plays that went unpublished but were performed to a resounding reception. These were followed by the more famous Sizwe Banzi is Dead and The Island, co-written with Athol Fugard and Winston Ntshona, in the early 1970s. He also received an Olivier nomination for his role in My Children My Africa! Kani's work has been widely performed around the worl…

Known for

Silent Witness poster
7.6

A team of exceptional forensic pathologists and scientists investigate heinous crimes and use their skills to catch the people responsible.

Silent Witness

1996

Play for Today poster
6.6

Play for Today is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 from 1970 to 1984. During the run, more than three hundred programmes, featuring original television plays, and adaptations of stage plays and novels, were transmitted. The individual episodes were between fifty and a hundred minutes in duration.

Play for Today

1970

What If...? poster
8.0

Taking inspiration from the comic books of the same name, each episode of this animated anthology series questions, revisits and twists classic Marvel Cinematic moments.

What If...?

2021

Black Panther poster
7.4

King T'Challa returns home to the reclusive, technologically advanced African nation of Wakanda to serve as his country's new leader. However, T'Challa soon finds that he is challenged for the throne by factions within his own country as well as without. Using powers reserved to Wakandan kings, T'Challa assumes the Black Panther mantle to join with ex-girlfriend Nakia, the queen-mother, his princess-kid sister, members of the Dora Milaje (the Wakandan 'special forces') and an American secret agent, to prevent Wakanda from being dragged into a world war.

Black Panther

2018

Captain America: Civil War poster
7.5

Following the events of Age of Ultron, the collective governments of the world pass an act designed to regulate all superhuman activity. This polarizes opinion amongst the Avengers, causing two factions to side with Iron Man or Captain America, which causes an epic battle between former allies.

Captain America: Civil War

2016

Mufasa: The Lion King poster
7.3

Mufasa, a cub lost and alone, meets a sympathetic lion named Taka, the heir to a royal bloodline. The chance meeting sets in motion an expansive journey of a group of misfits searching for their destiny.

Mufasa: The Lion King

2024

Film credits

2020s · 4 titles

2010s · 11 titles

Black Panther poster
7.4

King T'Challa returns home to the reclusive, technologically advanced African nation of Wakanda to serve as his country's new leader. However, T'Challa soon finds that he is challenged for the throne by factions within his own country as well as without. Using powers reserved to Wakandan kings, T'Challa assumes the Black Panther mantle to join with ex-girlfriend Nakia, the queen-mother, his princess-kid sister, members of the Dora Milaje (the Wakandan 'special forces') and an American secret agent, to prevent Wakanda from being dragged into a world war.

Black Panther

2018

Captain America: Civil War poster
7.5

Following the events of Age of Ultron, the collective governments of the world pass an act designed to regulate all superhuman activity. This polarizes opinion amongst the Avengers, causing two factions to side with Iron Man or Captain America, which causes an epic battle between former allies.

Captain America: Civil War

2016

The Lion King poster
7.1

Simba idolizes his father, King Mufasa, and takes to heart his own royal destiny. But not everyone in the kingdom celebrates the new cub's arrival. Scar, Mufasa's brother—and former heir to the throne—has plans of his own. The battle for Pride Rock is ravaged with betrayal, tragedy and drama, ultimately resulting in Simba's exile. With help from a curious pair of newfound friends, Simba will have to figure out how to grow up and take back what is rightfully his.

The Lion King

2019

Murder Mystery poster
6.2

On a long-awaited trip to Europe, a New York City cop and his hairdresser wife scramble to solve a baffling murder aboard a billionaire's yacht.

Murder Mystery

2019

Coriolanus poster
5.8

Caius Martius, aka Coriolanus, is an arrogant and fearsome general who has built a career on protecting Rome from its enemies. Pushed by his ambitious mother to seek the position of consul, Coriolanus is at odds with the masses and unpopular with certain colleagues. When a riot results in his expulsion from Rome, Coriolanus seeks out his sworn enemy, Tullus Aufidius. Together, the pair vow to destroy the great city.

Coriolanus

2011

White Lion poster
6.4

According to the legend of the Shangaan, white lions are the messengers of the gods, but it has been years since one has been seen in their remote African valley. When a white lion is miraculously born into that valley, a young Shangaan named Gisani, finds himself destined to protect this rare and magnificent creature at all costs. This young lion, whom will be known as Letsatsi, is cast from his pride and forced to embark upon a perilous journey of survival.

White Lion

2010

How to Steal 2 Million poster
6.5

It's a jungle out there. That's how we meet our lead character Jack. It's been five years since he's seen his partner and best friend Twala. Jack did five years for a robbery gone bad. Twala never got caught and Jack never talked. But Twala is as treacherous as Jack is honourable. He's married Jack's former fiancée. Jack wants to go legit but after being rejected for a loan he needs a new source of capital. Twala presents him with an opportunity a job with a R2 million take. The complication is that the mark is Twala's father. Jacks partner for the job is the tough and sexy Olive. Little does he know she will prove to be more devious then his old friend.

How to Steal 2 Million

2011

Falls the Shadow:  The Life and Times of Athol Fugard poster
NR

Director Tony Palmer tells the incredible life story of Athol Fugard, the prolific playwright, novelist, and director who exposed the horrors of South Africa's apartheid system for the entire world to see. Interviews with Desmond Tutu, Nelson Mandela, Yvonne Bryceland and others help to illuminate Fugard's remarkable legacy.

Falls the Shadow: The Life and Times of Athol Fugard

2012

The Space: Theatre of Survival poster
NR

When everything about you falls one man decides that theatre is the key, and the way to begin to unify a people. A film about the life and times of The Space theatre (a.k.a. 'The Space', 'Die Ruimte' in Afrikaans, and 'Indawo' in Xhosa).

The Space: Theatre of Survival

2019

Jail Caesar poster
6.3

The early life of Roman ruler Julius Caesar as told in three working prisons in South Africa, the UK and Canada. A small group of professional actors is joined by a cast of real-life inmates to tell the story of one of history's foremost personalities.

Jail Caesar

2012

1994: The Bloody Miracle poster
10.0

As South Africa celebrates its 20th anniversary of the advent of democracy in 1994, it is difficult to believe the ‘Mandela miracle’ nearly didn’t happen. In an orgy of countrywide violence, some were intent on derailing the first free elections. Now, for the first time, those responsible for countless deaths and widespread mayhem explain how they nearly brought South Africa to its knees. 1994: The Bloody Miracle is a chilling look at what these hard men did to thwart democracy, and at how they have now made an uneasy peace with the ‘Rainbow Nation’ in their own different ways.

1994: The Bloody Miracle

2014

2000s · 4 titles

Endgame poster
5.9

The time is the late '80s, a crucial period in the history of South Africa. President P.W. Botha is hanging on to power by a thread as the African National Congress (ANC) takes up arms against apartheid and the country tumbles toward insurrection. A British mining concern is convinced that their interests would be better served in a stable South Africa and they quietly dispatch Michael Young, their head of public affairs, to open an unofficial dialogue between the bitter rivals. Assembling a reluctant yet brilliant team to pave the way to reconciliation by confronting obstacles that initially seem insurmountable, Young places his trust in ANC leader Thabo Mbeki and Afrikaner philosophy professor Willie Esterhuyse. It is their empathy that will ultimately serve as the catalyst for change by proving more powerful than the terrorist bombs that threaten to disrupt the peaceful dialogue.

Endgame

2009

Final Solution poster
8.8

The indoctrination of Gerrit Wolfaardt is complete: his family traditions, history, culture- even his church-have taught him that black South Africans are a cancer in the land. Under the eye of prominent members of the government and military, Gerrit develops a diabolical plan to rid South Africa of its "black danger." Before his plans can be carried out, he meets two people who will put him on a collision course with his future: Celeste, an open-minded University student, and Peter Lekota, a pastor who challenges Gerrit's prejudice. His "final solution" meets its greatest obstacle when Gerrit realizes he is wrong. The Persecutor becomes the Peacemaker and begins to seek reconciliation between whites and blacks. However, in the turbulent last days of apartheid, there are those who doubt his transformation. One such person is Moses Moremi, whom Gerrit had once violently attacked. In the end, it is Moses who must choose between peace and bloodshed.

Final Solution

2001

The Bird Can't Fly poster
7.0

Melody returns to her old home to Fairlands the funeral of their daughter, June to attend. But Melody not recognize their city regains because it is almost entirely disappeared under tons of sand. She also learns that they have a 10-year-old grandson, River, has. Melody River will take into their new life, but this is fighting back. He wants to hatch the eggs of ostriches, which he has always fed with his mother. Rivers father, Scoop, a lazy musician and the man in the city post office, wants Melody leaves the city. Here are a lot of conflicts, to Melody learns the truth. But haunts as a sand storm the city, suddenly everything changes.

The Bird Can't Fly

2008

Nothing But The Truth poster
NR

A South African librarian prepares for the return of the remains of his brother who died in exile.

Nothing But The Truth

2009

1990s · 7 titles

The Ghost and the Darkness poster
6.9

Sir Robert Beaumont is behind schedule on a railroad in Africa. Enlisting noted engineer John Henry Patterson to right the ship, Beaumont expects results. Everything seems great until the crew discovers the mutilated corpse of the project's foreman, seemingly killed by a lion. After several more attacks, Patterson calls in famed hunter Charles Remington, who has finally met his match in the bloodthirsty lions.

The Ghost and the Darkness

1996

Sarafina! poster
6.2

A Soweto schoolgirl named Sarafina is galvanized to protest apartheid after her teacher is arrested for her activism, leading her to join the student resistance movement.

Sarafina!

1992

Kini & Adams poster
6.2

Kini and Adams are two friends leaving in a Zimbabwe village who dream of repairing an old broken car, and moving to the city and starting life over.

Kini & Adams

1997

The Native Who Caused All the Trouble poster
8.0

True story of a man who believes God owns the earth and land cannot be owned by anyone, therefore he's at liberty to build his church on ground occupied by others.

The Native Who Caused All the Trouble

1990

The Tichborne Claimant poster
8.7

In the late 19th century, Lord Tichborne, the ninth richest nobleman in England, disappears after a South American shipwreck. Some years later his erudite Afro-English valet, Bogle, is sent to investigate rumors that Tichborne survived and settled in Australia. An alcoholic ruffian answer's Bogle's inquiries claiming to be the lost heir. Bogle suspects fraud, but conspires with the claimant to split the inheritance should the latter succesfully pass himself off to friends, family and the courts. As the claimant returns to England to continue his charade, enough people confirm his identity to make both the claimant and Bogle believe that he just might be the rightful heir after all.

The Tichborne Claimant

1999

Soweto Green poster
9.0

An American couple moves to Johannesburg after Nelson Mandela is elected president.

Soweto Green

1995

In Darkest Hollywood: Cinema and Apartheid poster
8.0

A documentary overview and ideological critique of the South African film industry and cinema's historical relationship with apartheid.

In Darkest Hollywood: Cinema and Apartheid

1994

1980s · 10 titles

A Dry White Season poster
6.7

During the 1976 Soweto uprising, a white school teacher's life and values are threatened when he asks questions about the death of a young black boy who died in police custody.

A Dry White Season

1989

Options poster
3.8

An MBA goes to Africa to make a deal, but comes out with a Princess.

Options

1989

The Grass Is Singing poster
4.7

In Southern Rhodesia in the 1940s, city-dweller Mary marries farmer Dick Turner and is plucked from the comforts of her cosmopolitan life and forced to live on his unsuccessful farm. Mary slowly goes insane and has a sexual affair with her black servant, Moses. When the affair is discovered, Mary asks Moses to leave the farm, but he returns and murders her.

The Grass Is Singing

1981

No artwork available
9.0

This version of August Strindberg's play from 1888 takes place in South Africa in the 1980s. The servant John is black and Miss Julie a white landowner's daughter.

Miss Julie

1986

'Master Harold'... and the Boys poster
6.6

When Harold, a young white man, learns that his alcoholic, handicapped father is returning home, his frustration turns into racist viciousness against the two black men who work for the family.

'Master Harold'... and the Boys

1985

An African Dream poster
7.0

An Englishwoman travels to South Africa in 1906.

An African Dream

1987

Othello poster
7.0

After 400 years Shakespeare's great tragedy still has strong social and political relevance, and this celebrated production by leading actress and director Janet Suzman was momentous, as it was staged at South Africa's famous Market Theatre during the apartheid era. Tony Award-winning actor John Kani plays the title role.

Othello

1989

No artwork available
4.0

South African drama set at a roadhouse in Apartheid.

Saturday Night at the Palace

1987

Marigolds in August poster
8.0

Marigolds in August was written by Athol Fugard, who in the early 1980s was South Africa's most celebrated playwright. Fugard's intense political opinions were enough for the USSR to object to Marigolds being shown in the 1980 Berlin Festival, but the objections were dropped when it was learned that Fugard had already built up a strong fan following in Eastern Europe (for various reasons, the film was not released in the US until 1984). Winston Ntshona stars as a black South African gardener who travels by foot into the white community looking for a job. Upon arriving, Ntshona discovers that another black, John Kani, may have been hired for that job. Ntshoa ruins the chances for himself and Kani by accusing the other man of planning a theft. Both men are eventually hired by a fellow outcast, a white poacher (played by Anthol Fugard himself). The message would seem to be that if the have-nots of the world stick together, it matters little how badly they're treated by the "haves."

Marigolds in August

1980

No artwork available
NR

The play, Sizwe Bansi is Dead, follows the main character, Sizwe, as he writes to his wife after an unsuccessful search for a new job and better life for his family. This film places the viewer in the discussions between the writers of the play: Athol Fugard, John Kani and Winston Ntshona as they attempt to explain and re-write the play.

A Sizwe Bansi Workshop

1981

Series credits

Silent Witness poster
7.6

A team of exceptional forensic pathologists and scientists investigate heinous crimes and use their skills to catch the people responsible.

Silent Witness

1996

Play for Today poster
6.6

Play for Today is a British television anthology drama series, produced by the BBC and transmitted on BBC1 from 1970 to 1984. During the run, more than three hundred programmes, featuring original television plays, and adaptations of stage plays and novels, were transmitted. The individual episodes were between fifty and a hundred minutes in duration.

Play for Today

1970

What If...? poster
8.0

Taking inspiration from the comic books of the same name, each episode of this animated anthology series questions, revisits and twists classic Marvel Cinematic moments.

What If...?

2021

Playhouse poster
7.0

A one-hour anthology television series of one-off contemporary and classic dramas produced by the BBC.

Playhouse

1974

Marvel Studios Legends poster
7.4

Revisit the epic heroes, villains and moments from across the MCU in preparation for the stories still to come. Each dynamic segment feeds directly into the upcoming series — setting the stage for future events. This series weaves together the many threads that constitute the unparalleled Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Marvel Studios Legends

2021

Wallander poster
7.4

This drama follows Inspector Kurt Wallander – a middle-aged everyman – as he struggles against a rising tide of violence in the apparently sleepy backwaters in and around Ystad in Skane, southern Sweden. Based on the international best-selling books by Henning Mankell.

Wallander

2008

African Skies poster
7.0

Catherine Bach plays Margo Wells Dutton, 37, a graduate of McGill University in Montreal and now a widowed businesswoman. Trained as a structural engineer, she takes the reins of a multinational corporation, Canoco, for her father-in-law, Marcus Dutton (Robert Mitchum). When she is in Africa, they communicate through satellite-linked computers. Her 16-year-old son, Rory (Simon James), attends class via computer, works on the ranch and is caretaker for the household, Victoria Lodge.

African Skies

1992

Behind the camera