A brave man, a lowlife or a madman?
All three.
THIS is at the heart of The River Season 4’s newest arrival, Elvis Baloyi, played by actor, producer and TV presenter Mzwandile Ngubeni (Spirt Sundae, Umlilo, Taxi Ride).
He debuts tonight, Tuesday 16 February, and he’s aiming as high as a stoner by convincing himself he can own Lindiwe Dlamini-Dikana.
His goal: to marry her so they can be the power couple South Africa needs.
But first he has to win favour with her, which he plans to do by any means necessary.
Here’s a close-up of who he is, from the writers’ imaginations to this page:
Elvis is never what he seems. He’s devious and cunning, but never shows this side of himself to the world. A genius.
His voice quivers ever so slightly and his shrilly laugh is either too thin or too loud, annoying even the most patient of people. He walks into a room and invokes sympathy and pity.
The masses only know him as weak, spineless and eager to please, but this is all just a means to an end for Elvis. This is how he disarms people and gets them to lower their guards.
While they dismiss him, he reads them, and plots, playing a well calculated game of chess until he can show his hand.
Although not a fan favourite with women, Elvis prides himself as a great catch and believes he’s called for greatness.
When he sheds off the weakling façade, he is brazen and arrogant, present and domineering.
Background
Elvis hails from a small village and is the only child of a single mother.
He moved to the big city and revamped himself through imitating the rich kids he met in aviation school and the characters he encountered in the extensive literature he was exposed himself to.
Elvis isn’t particularly precious about money if it doesn’t come with power.
That’s why when he stumbles upon Lindiwe and her secrets, instead of extorting her, he tries to woo her, albeit through blackmail.
The more you understand yourself, the more silence there is, the healthier you are. —Maxime Lagacé
