UKHOZI FM breakfast show host Linda Sibiya has launched his acting career in the movie Uhlanga: The Mark.

The man known as Mr Magic, and who hosts Vuka Mzansi on weekdays between 6am and 9am, recently won an MTN award for his popular breakfast show.

Now he wants more movie roles.

Sibiya plays the role of Mandla Thabethe in the film, which Ndaba ka Ngwane wrote and produced.

The movie is about Thabethe, who sells bananas for a living and then gets a job at a sugar-cane factory.

Sibiya said he related easily to the character because he grew up very poor too and sold sweets and fruit on trains before he became popular on radio.

"When I was approached to play a role that related to my own life, I could not refuse," Sibiya said this week.

"Mandla was a laughing stock in the community but believed things would improve," Sibiya said about his character.

He said the film offered great motivation for people who had lost hope. Playing Mandla also made him see life quite differently.

"I have learnt that if you work hard and believe in yourself, your life will improve," Sibiya said.

He said even while they were shooting the movie memories of his formative years came flooding back.

Uhlanga: The Mark follows three young rural teenagers through their daily struggles with prejudice, poverty and abuse.

They eventually triumph.

Sibiya said he would love to act in a local soapie and to publish his two books, From Nothing to Something and The Pain of Being Famous.

Uhlanga: The Mark will open officially on May 31 at the Sun Coast Cinema in Durban. -

bambalelep@sowetan.co.za