Sophia Chese Arts Correspondent
He hogged the limelight with his notorious character, a male gossiper who befriended women in “Fidelis”, one of the local dramas that took the country’s entertainment scene by storm in 2013. Many loved his character, he knew how to connect with people of different ages and as a result he was a darling to many especially young children.

By that time no one knew he would one day be recognised by the National Arts Merit Awards as an outstanding male actor but he has every reason to smile after scooping the award.

The Herald Entertainment caught up with the man behind the Zondie character in “Fidelis”. He was born Partwell Mazvo on April 10, 1986.

He started acting in 2008 when he featured in “Zibhodho”, a local drama which was aired on Zimbabwe Television. He played the role of a deceitful young man who pretended to be friendly to one man’s wife while he was busy connecting the man to other girls.

In 2012, he featured in another drama “Muchabaiwa”, in which he played another notorious role as “Ringtone”, a mischievous young man who was a problem to his parents.

He then featured in “Dudzai” last year and he played the part of an orphan “Choga”, who was being taken care of by some good Samaritans but instead of thanking them, he starts dating their daughters.

The drama that got him the NAMA Outstanding Actor for the year 2015 is “Mubairo weChivi/ Prophets of Doom”. In this one he was a false prophet who used every means possible to get personal benefits including money, groceries, and also slept with married women in the name of helping them.

Commenting on the character he portrays on all the dramas, Mazvo said the secret is to appeal to people of different backgrounds and ages.

“If you want to be successful in this industry, one has to look for things that suit everyone, you must portray a character that creates a bond between you and the audience,” he said.

He said the award came as a surprise to him. “I never expected to get the recognition. This was my first time to be nominated and I am not even the one who submitted the play to Nama but someone else did it for me.

“But nevertheless I am grateful to the people of Zimbabwe for the support they have rendered to me and the award has motivated me to do much better and produce more dramas so as to prove that I am indeed a force in the industry,” he said.

The actor, who is also a scriptwriter, said he is currently working on some of the dramas he has written. He promised a new project before the end of the year.

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