Skeem Saam has poured cold water over rumours that popular actor Oros Mampofu was fired from the local soapie‚ following his shocking and dramatic exit from the show.
Spawned by a report‚ on what appears to be a satirical blog‚ speculations alleged that Oros’ character‚ Jama‚ was made redundant after it was discovered that he would send his twin brother‚ Prince‚ to cover for him on days when he was lazy to go to studio.
However‚ speaking to TMG Entertainment‚ the show’s publicist‚ Percy Vilakazi‚ quashed the rumours‚ asserting that it would be impossible for Prince to act on Oros’ behalf‚ given that it’s easy to tell the two apart.
Percy also rejected claims that Oros is lazy. “Oros is one of the hardest working actors I know‚” he explained.
’’The rumours are silly‚ because Prince and Jama are not that identical. It’s easy to tell the difference between them. Besides‚ we [Skeem Saam] are not that stupid.”
On Oros’ exit from the show‚ Percy‚ who’s also Skeem Saam’s scriptwriter‚ revealed that Jama’s storyline was laid out before the actor was even casted.
“We needed a student that was going to die of alcohol poisoning‚ that was the storyline‚ because Skeem Saam is an educational show‚ and this came in as an effort to raise social awareness. Oros was then cast. He was amazing‚ and we loved him. We got so attached to him that we ended up extending his stay. However‚ he’s always known at some point that his character was going to die.”
Percy said the timing was perfect‚ as the closing of every season is meant to be sudden and striking.
“At the end of season three‚ we had Lelo burning down a house. So‚ at the end of season four‚ we decided that this is the right time for Jama to die‚” he said.
