- Zolisa Xaluva is shooting his final scenes for Smoke & Mirrors Season 1.
- The actor is expected to depart from the series in April.
- The show producers are said to be working on finding a replacement for his character.
He's one of South Africa's most decorated actors and boasts a legion of fans all over the country. But, It's only a matter of weeks before award-winning actor Zolisa Xaluva exists eTV's Smoke & Mirrors. This is after he allegedly fell out with the hit show's producers.
TRUELOVE understands that there were several meetings that took place between him and the show's producers to try and find an amicable way forward but that ended in a deadlock.
"Unfortunately, the meetings that took place between him and the producers didn't yield much results, so, he's definitely leaving the show," a source tells us.
The source also claims that because the actor is one of the principal cast members of the show, his character won't be written off. Producers are scrambling to find someone to take over from him.
"Producers are still having numerous meetings everyday to find a perfect replacement for him. This is proving to be a mammoth task for them because, not only is Zolisa a fan-favourite, he brings so much flair to the Caesar Ngonyama character," the source continues.
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@truelovemagazine Zolisa Xaluva (who plays Caesar on #etv's #SmokeAndMirrors) says it's important for actors to be trained and not just act because they've found popularity on social media. #ZolisaXaluva ? original sound - TRUE LOVE
Zolisa, who also left Mzansi Magic's show Gomora after allegedly having a scuffle with producers, is apparently shooting his final scenes for season one and will exit the show in April.
"He's busy filming his last scenes and he will officially be off the screen from mid April. Hopefully by that time someone will be minted to take over from him from season two."
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The actor rose to fame when he played Jason, a gay character on Generations. He along with 16 of his colleagues were shown the door by the show's creator Mfundi Vundla for demanding more money. Since then, he has gone on to star in other productions.
In a terse statement, Final Pictures Productions claims that his departure was "amicable".
"At the onset of the first season of Smoke & Mirrors, the producers of The Final Chapter Productions have come to a resolution to amicably part ways with Zolisa Xaluva. Zolisa has been as asset to the show in his role as Caesar Ngonyama and we wish him nothing but the best in his future endeavours," reads the statement .
Meanwhile, when we approached the star for comment, he indicates that he is not ready to talk about his exit from the show. "I don't want to comment at the moment," quips the 42-year-old Eastern Cape-born thespian.
