Khathu Ramabulana was born on 10 September 1993. He spent his childhood and teenage years growing up in Soweto, Johannesburg. He took on a lot of art classes when he was younger because he had always known that he wanted to be an actor – Khathu has always been a very meticulous person even as a child – and took his acting classes seriously. When he got into high school, he teamed up with his friends and made comedy skits. He also did standup comedy for a short while.
With a background like this, it isn’t surprising that this Soweto-born actor has enough confidence to take on the entire world. He was trained very hard for it. He had his primary and high school education in Soweto, but his degree was bagged from the University of Cape Town. Khathu had always been a brilliant student, so it came as no surprise to his family when he gained admission into the prestigious university in 2013 to study Drama and Theatre Arts. He graduated in 2016 at the age of 23. This was his first major step towards a career in the South African movie industry.
After finishing school, Khathu landed his first TV role in the series Generations: The Legacy. He first appeared on the show on September 23, 2016, as a character called Yonke in a guest-starring role. He went on a hiatus shortly after and returned with a bang in 2019. Khathu is notoriously known for playing mischievous and romantic roles; this was especially noticeable when he played Zweli in the popular South African soap, Scandal!
His character is best remembered as a schemer and conman who seduced a woman and deflowered her while his wife recorded them. That same year, he played the role of Hulisani in SABC1 viewers’ favorite, Muvhango. In Muvhango, he charmed his way into Rendani’s bed and heart; he was so good that she dumped her boyfriend. His effortless suaveness made him a fan favorite instantly. He was so popular that his resignation from the series early in 2020 led to call-outs and protests on social media, with viewers asking Muvhango producers to either produce the old Hulisani or scrap the show entirely.
Khathu Ramabulana’s breakout moment came in 2019 when he landed the main supporting role in the refreshing series Shadow. He played the role of Detective Max Makena, where he dazzled us with his brilliant acting. The series was signed to Netflix and was shown in over 119 countries. That was the series that brought him into the limelight and the notice of South African soap lovers. In 2020, he was featured in Queen Sono, where he played ‘William,’ the lead character’s best friend.
In an interview with, he spoke about how he could switch from playboy to caring confidante; he said he had prepared himself for that role by doing volunteering work with a friend on a play about Dissociative Identity Disorder (DID). He also did heavy research about therapy by watching movies and reading books.
One thing about the ‘Shadow’ actor is that he takes his career very seriously. This may be the reason why his rise to fame was relatively short. It might also be as a result of his attention to the tiniest detail. This particular actor doesn’t rely on his talent alone; he tries as much as possible to get into whatever character he needs to as perfectly as possible. With a work ethic like his, we can only expect to see more of Khathu Ramabulana, locally and internationally; we can only expect that his award shelf wouldn’t be empty for much longer.