
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in the former snake pit of the zoo, hence the name) in Port Elizabeth in 1965 and helped to create many plays that went unpublished but were performed to a resounding reception.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
7.6A team of exceptional forensic pathologists and scientists investigate heinous crimes and use their skills to catch the people responsible.
Silent Witness
1996
6.6Play 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
8.0Taking 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
7.4King 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
7.5Following 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
7.3Mufasa, 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
7.3Mufasa, 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
6.4After starting their own detective agency, Nick and Audrey Spitz land a career-making case when their billionaire pal is kidnapped from his wedding.
Murder Mystery 2
2023
6.9After his best friend is killed in a shark attack, Quinn, a lovable yet tenacious seal assembles a SEAL TEAM to fight back against a gang of sharks overtaking the neighborhood. But this merry band of international seals are not at all trained for such a mission. They seek the help of a much more skillful combatant, Claggart, but even his tricks and flips can’t whip these guys into shape. However, with a little bit of ingenuity, intelligence and a lot of heart, our SEAL TEAM may actually be able to bring peace back to their undersea community.
Seal Team
2021
NRBeyond the Light Barrier is the autobiographical true story of Elizabeth Klarer, a South African woman, and Akon, an astrophysicist from Meton, a planet of Proxima Centauri. Elizabeth was taken in his spaceship to Meton where she lived with his family for four months and bore his son. She came back to Earth with very detailed technical information of how the light propulsion system used in the spaceship operated and other information that greatly impressed earth scientists.
Beyond the Light Barrier
2023
2010s · 11 titles
7.4King 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
7.5Following 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
7.1Simba 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
6.2On 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
5.8Caius 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
6.4According 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
6.5It'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
NRDirector 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
NRWhen 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
6.3The 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
10.0As 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
5.9The 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
8.8The 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
7.0Melody 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
NRA 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
6.9Sir 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
6.2A 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
6.2Kini 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
8.0True 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
8.7In 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
9.0An American couple moves to Johannesburg after Nelson Mandela is elected president.
Soweto Green
1995
8.0A 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
6.7During 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
3.8An MBA goes to Africa to make a deal, but comes out with a Princess.
Options
1989
4.7In 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
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
6.6When 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
7.0An Englishwoman travels to South Africa in 1906.
An African Dream
1987
7.0After 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
South African drama set at a roadhouse in Apartheid.
Saturday Night at the Palace
1987
8.0Marigolds 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
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
1970s · 3 titles
6.8A British multinational company seeks to overthrow a vicious dictator in central Africa. It hires a band of (largely aged) mercenaries in London and sends them in to save the virtuous but imprisoned opposition leader who is also critically ill and due for execution. Just when the team has performed a perfect rescue, the multinational does a deal with the vicious dictator leaving the mercenary band to escape under their own steam and exact revenge.
The Wild Geese
1978
NRGeorge, a black South African, finds it hard to settle down in London after his experiences in South Africa.
Victims of Apartheid
1978
NRTwo Black South Africans discover what it means to lose their passbooks, which they must carry yo prove their identity during the apartheid era
Sizwe Bansi Is Dead
1974
Series credits
7.6A team of exceptional forensic pathologists and scientists investigate heinous crimes and use their skills to catch the people responsible.
Silent Witness
1996
6.6Play 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
8.0Taking 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
7.0A one-hour anthology television series of one-off contemporary and classic dramas produced by the BBC.
Playhouse
1974
7.4Revisit 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
7.4This 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
7.0Catherine 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
NRA South African librarian prepares for the return of the remains of his brother who died in exile.
Nothing But The Truth
2009
NRA South African librarian prepares for the return of the remains of his brother who died in exile.
Nothing But The Truth
2009
NRTwo Black South Africans discover what it means to lose their passbooks, which they must carry yo prove their identity during the apartheid era
Sizwe Bansi Is Dead
1974

