Get ready, South Africa—Showmax is about to drop the hottest legal drama of the year! The trailer for Law, Love and Betrayal (LLB) has just landed, and it’s going to be a game-changer. Premiering on Thursday, 5 September, LLB features a star-studded cast including Dineo Rasedile, Pearl Modiadie, and the one and only Nimrod Nkosi, who takes on the role of Gatsha Gumede, the mastermind behind the law firm Gumede & Associates.
Born and bred in Orlando East, Soweto, with roots in Bergville, KwaZulu Natal, Nimrod Nkosi has been a household name for years. His birthday is on 22 March 1972, and he’s fluent in IsiXhosa, IsiZulu, Swati, TshiVenda, and English. With such a rich cultural background and diverse linguistic skills, Nimrod brings a unique flair to every role he takes on.
To give us the inside scoop on his character and the show, Xabiso Ngqabe sat down with Nimrod Nkosi for an exclusive interview. Check out the Q&A below to learn more about what makes Gatsha tick and why Law, Love & Betrayal is the legal drama you won’t want to miss.
Q&A with Nimrod Nkosi
Tell us about your new character. Gatsha Gumede is a man who has achieved a lot in life. He came from a difficult background but pursued his education and studied law. He rose in that environment and eventually opened his own law firm. Starting small, he built it up until Gumede and Associates was formed.
Gatsha is an expert in constitutional law. He goes to court primarily to clear up messes and facilitate takeovers. If there’s a case he wants and he knows the judge, his presence alone indicates the likely outcome.
Why a legal series? I grew up watching law-inspired movies like To Kill A Mockingbird and shows like LA Law, Matlock, Chicago Law, and Boston Legal. When I was 11 years old, these were the shows I watched. They still are: recently, I watched an HBO series called The Night Of, starring John Turturro, who plays a brilliant lawyer.
Are there certain characters who inspired this role? Drawing inspiration from actors like Blair Underwood in LA Law, who was the only black actor on the show, was helpful.
I also have friends who are lawyers, who explained that the courtroom dynamics differ in South Africa. Here, actors must rely on facial expressions and gestures more than movement. Ultimately, 80% of the performance must come from within the actor. There’s a company called Dramatec, an acting consultancy founded by my co-star Anelisa Phewa. This coaching helped to give my character an extra layer.
Gatsha has a complex relationship with his children, who in some cases are also his employees. As a father yourself, what parenting advice would you give your character? I would tell him, ‘My brother, just chill a little bit. The lottery of birth is amazing; you’ll never give birth to someone exactly like you.’
Even though they say an apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, which is true, he hates that saying. He is driven and wants to see his children thrive in a powerful environment, but he forgets that they are not necessarily driven by the same forces that motivated him.
I’d say, ‘Let the children express themselves and their talents.’ You can spend years trying to impress or please your parents, but those are years you’ll never get back if you don’t try to be yourself. Yes, discipline is important, and life isn’t always rosy, but it’s not all about thorns either. You have to find a balance.
Also, comparing kids and pitting them against each other is something I would advise him against.
In a parallel universe, do you think you and Gatsha would ever be friends? Yes. I like men of power and stature, but I prefer quiet power. Ostentatious power is not my thing. I like to arrive in a room and have everyone know I am there. If Morgan Freeman were to walk in, his presence would be felt before he even says a word. The same goes for Denzel Washington; he owns the room, even in scenes where he is quiet, like in The Equalizer. Having a dad like Gatsha would be cool because he would keep you driven and on your toes. I’d hang around with him. If I needed someone to be put in their place, I’d call Gatsha. When Gatsha Gumede is on the phone, everything gets sorted.
What was the most challenging part of playing Gatsha? I needed guidance on why he is such an angry man.
He has achieved a lot, and men like him have seen and done things that weigh heavy on their minds. You can imagine the cases he has handled and things that burden him.
But the process was to find out what exactly bothers him this much.
Naturally, I’m not an angry person. I love people. I hug a lot. This was part of the discussion that I must depart from Nimrod because I’m too sweet. My process was always, when I’m with Pearl, I’d say, ‘Dude, I’m gonna go in on you today.’ But we are also taught to let go of that character and not take it home.
The difficult part was being rude and cutting people short. Saying things like, ‘Get out of my way’; ‘Where’s my tea?’; ‘There’s no blue cheese’. He’s that fussy. He’s quite different from me. Yes, I have high standards, but I’m not a cutthroat type of guy, even on set.
What’s that one aspect about LLB that sets it apart from other locally produced shows? Showmax has upped the game in the quality of production value, which is a big plus. Secondly, the story is enticing. It’s set in the glitz and glamour world of law, generational wealth, and scheming, making it unique. The aspirational element raises the bar—pun not intended.
What are you most excited about regarding the show? I’m excited that it’s on Showmax. Growing up in the industry, we could not have imagined that streaming would be like this. We always knew the game would change, but we didn’t know how. Now we have a streaming service like Showmax, and I’m still here. I’m very fortunate to be at the advent of the new definition of our pop culture. It’s truly a blessing to be here.
This being my first Showmax Original, I’m excited! Showmax is available across Africa, so I can go to Ghana, and people will recognize me. It gives an actor a bigger platform to be appreciated and possibly create work elsewhere.
Watch the trailer for Law, Love & Betrayal here https://www.instagram.com/reel/C-7i78btnua/?utm_source=ig_web_button_share_sheet
Nimrod has had some pretty wild fan encounters over the years, but one of the craziest has to be when someone plucked out his hair in public, thinking it would bring them luck in winning the lottery! And when he’s not dealing with that, he’s busy catching up on some Showmax favorites like Empini, Rosemary’s Hitlist, and Tracking Thabo Bester.
Catch Law, Love & Betrayal from 5 September 2024, with new episodes streaming every Thursday onwards.