John Kani Quotes

John Kani

Profession : Actor

Birth : November 30, 1942

The exchange rate of the Rand against the dollar, pound or euro makes South Africa an attractive location. The positive side of this is it gives our artists and technicians an opportunity to work.

John Kani

You can't always play the hero. You have to play the villain.

John Kani

My stories are about humanity, about the challenges of surviving and the constant fight against ignorance, inhumanity and complacency.

John Kani

A telenovela is a story that's like a soapie, but it has a beginning, middle and an end.

John Kani

'Sizwa Banzi' is the life of the black man. We look at it, laugh at it, re-examine it, but we do not change it.

John Kani

Inkaba' is about a feud between two South African families. They have been fighting for years, from one generation to the next. It's like those typical feuds you have in rural KwaZulu-Natal where, after a while, you do not even know why you are fighting.

John Kani

I will always vote. I have done so, ever since 1994.

John Kani

Protest theater has a place again. It's not against whites or apartheid. It is against injustice and anything that fails our people.

John Kani

My grandfather told me our history through his stories about all the great Zulu battles.

John Kani

In South Africa in 1987, apartheid was still going strong. Some of the most brutal race laws had been relaxed, but they hadn't yet been repealed. There was still a lot of tension.

John Kani

That's the beauty of art: art is universal.

John Kani

Whenever I play Shakespeare, I keep thinking, 'how did this Englishman know so much about me?'

John Kani

It dawned on me that theatre is a powerful weapon for change.

John Kani

In South Africa, we've been watching these movies all our lives - 'Batman,' 'Superman,' 'Captain America' - and every time the mask comes off it's a white man.

John Kani

In 'Lion King,' the music is brilliant. The CGI is amazing.

John Kani

Any older actor knows the last great mountain to climb is to play King Lear and now, if I ever play Lear, I will have done the pre-preparation because I had to go into the play and read it over and over again.

John Kani

I'm Dad at home, not John Kani.

John Kani

I must concentrate all my efforts in the attainment of freedom for my people.

John Kani

When the situation politically became intolerable within South Africa, we used the arts as a weapon for change.

John Kani

I'd read Shakespeare in school, translated into isiXhosa, and loved the stories, but I hadn't realised before I started reading the English text how powerful the language was - the great surging speeches Othello has.

John Kani