Tshepo Matlala shines as the breakout supporting actor in Youngins, Tshedza Pictures’ hit boarding school telenovela, which has garnered such popularity that Showmax has greenlit a second season. Portraying Tshepo Masemola, the class clown, Matlala’s performance guarantees to evoke smiles, laughter, or cringes as you anticipate his next move.

Gen Terblanche catches up with the rising star as he speaks about how he keeps us laughing even when he’s at his worst.

What’s some of the wildest things that fans have said to you about Tshepo?
“We wish that Tshepo could date Pear [Keneilwe Matidze].Tshepo looks in love with Pearl, like sexually.” I’m like, “Ohh, child! I didn’t see that coming!” And someone was like, “This guy, maybe he was molested by Pearl.” That’s wild! Like, why?

Older people are more, “I wish I could spend a day with you just to discipline you! We want to give you a hiding because you don’t listen. You are a problem child.”

The youngsters are like, “I think I was once in a class with this guy. He makes me laugh. He makes my day.”

We mostly see Tshepo at school. What do you think his homelife is like?
I think he’s a spoiled brat! He lives a soft life. You even see how he dresses. He cuts his pants. If you know that your mother is struggling to buy you the pants, you’d never do that. He does those things because no one’s gonna tell him anything.

How do Tshepo’s pranks come to life, from script to screen?
You get a script, and from the writing you see, “Tshepo gives birth in class” (episode 7). Tshepo (as a trained performer) knows that Tshepo, the character in the story, exaggerates every moment. So this birth is gonna be something out of this world. The assistant director and the director give you an idea how the scene should play out. And the performer in me comes out to support Tshepo Masemola. I fell in love with physical theatre, clowning, miming and slapstick, so I take all those things to that performance because Tshepo’s character is larger than life. I’m very good when it comes to planned improvisation within the script. It’s up to me to direct the narrative of what’s supposed to happen in that scene. When I’m bored sometimes, I’m thinking, “How is this thing gonna play out?” And if I’m still wearing my personal clothes, I don’t feel anything. But the moment I wear that school uniform, in the environment that he’s in, with the people that he sees, something shifts.

What’s the craziest thing that you did for a laugh at school?
In school, we used to have a feeding scheme. Our Arts and Culture teacher is teaching and it’s about to be 12 o’clock. I have to go and eat. I haven’t eaten in the morning. And I was like, “This lady is eating my time! So what must I do now?” I opened my bag, took out my empty plate and tucked it under my jersey. And the moment it was 12 o’clock, I ran out of the class! All the classes could see me running and they were like, “Ah, it’s that time.” Because if Tshepo’s not out of the class, it’s not lunchtime. But when I got there, some kids had come out before 12 o’clock and already the queue was long! So I went in front and I took the whole pot and ran away in the other direction. Then I started dishing up for myself. I knew I was gonna get in trouble the following day, so it had to be worth it.

Which of Tshepo’s jokes and pranks have made you squirm?
I was speaking to the producer and the casting director. They were like, “Okay, what do you think of Tshepo?” And I said, “I think Tshepo is a cool guy, but the thing I hate about him is his hate towards queer people.” I don’t know what that thing is influenced by. Is it a “monkey-see, monkey-do” thing? I think he grew up in a society where there is a man and a woman, and this other thing is nonsense, and [he grew up in] a religious manner, where if you are queer, you are satanic, you are demonic and all those things.

What would you say if you were in his class?
Like, ‘Dude, no. Men don’t do this. You can’t hurt someone and get away with it.’

Why do you love Tshepo’s jokes? You need to be the whistleblower and call it out. If you laugh, you’re also adding to the problem.

Youngins S1 is streaming on Showmax with new episodes every Thursdays.