Thandolwethu Zondi on his breakout role in Netflix's new YA series, GO!

The life of rising star Thandolwethu Zondi climbing up the call sheet of filmmakers is about to change when Netflix's new YA series GO! premieres tomorrow.

The 23-year-old actor, a former professional athlete, leads the show as high school track runner Siya “Bolt” Gumede. For his breakout role, Zondi transforms the small screen playing opposite Katlego Danke, Wiseman Mncube, Dawn Thandeka King, Ntobeko Sishi, Vusi Kunene and Shalate Sekhabi. 

Go! was filmed in December 2023 and he remembers the call that changed his life coming a month prior. “I got the call straight after leaving church in November 2023. I remember praying for this role shortly after I auditioned for it earlier that week,” he said.

“The producers told me, 'Yeah, you need to go blonde’. To me, it sounded nuts but I was for it. My mom and my little brother were in the car and they could hear the chat – we all lost our minds, it was a mess in the car. Everyone was just screaming, going crazy, just excited about the news.”

With no formal acting training, the former soccer and rugby player was first spotted by a producer in a video on social media. “One of the producers saw my video on social media and they searched high and low until they stumbled across the Sharks Academy page where I was playing football while studying sports management science,” he said.

“They told me I looked like the character they envisioned when they created the script. They then told me they’d like to offer me an audition.

“At first when I received the text, I was like, ‘Come on, who would just send you a random message offering you a role?’ They then asked if I’d acted before and I said: ‘No’. I later auditioned and then got the role and then not too long after, I think a week later, I got the scripts. I came to Joburg later that month to start shooting.”

The plot of the series, directed by Tristan Holmes, sees a young sprinter given a second chance at life when he is offered a track scholarship at a prestigious school in Johannesburg. But in a shocking twist, his dreams are put in jeopardy after a tragic incident.

“Playing Siya took me back to my days as a football and rugby player, he possesses the spirit of a winner,” he said. “Being on set was intense. We finished shooting in December 2023. Little did I know I was going to play the waiting game. It was such a tough period for me. Since I have my executive producer's numbers, now and again I’d call him and ask: ‘My dude, what's going on? Is the series even coming out?’

“All he would tell me is to wait and have a lot of patience. But luckily, I started shooting other productions. So, the waiting game wasn't as unbearable. What's funny is, I thought my big break was going to be last year in March or April, only for it to come this year in March.”

In one of the productions he worked on, he had the opportunity to share the screen with his acting hero Thembinkosi Mthembu.

“He’s such a good actor and excellent at his craft, I learnt a lot from him on that set. I can’t wait for people to see what I embody next. I’m also glad I trusted God because my whole life was around sport but now I’m becoming an actor, something I never expected,” he said.