One of South Africa’s most famous actors, Arnold Vosloo, has signed with MLA once again after 33 years of living and working in the U.S. Vosloo, now 61, decided it was time to spend more time in South Africa.

“I have been in South Africa every year to see family and friends. The last few years I had the opportunity to work here and absolutely loved it. I have decided to spend eight months of the year here to make myself available to local filmmakers and the plan is to end my career where I started” said Vosloo.

Born in Pretoria to stage actor parents, Vosloo quickly established a fine reputation as an actor in South Africa, winning several awards for his theatre work, including his roles in More Is ‘n Lang Dag, Don Juan and Torch Song Trilogy.

His film career in South Africa has brought him several nominations for Best Actor Awards for both Boetie Gaan Border Toe (1984), Circles in a Forest (1989), and the Dalro Best Actor Nomination for the film version of More Is ‘n Lang Dag.

Vosloo was represented by MLA until his departure to the U.S. Vosloo recalls, “I walked into Moonyeenn’s office when I was 19 years old and within a few years she was the one who encouraged me to go overseas.

There was no doubt in my mind that when I came back that I would join MLA again. I am sorry that she is not here to see it come full circle, but I bet that she’s sitting in heaven with a cigar and a glass of champagne smiling.”

On arrival in the states, Vosloo returned to the theatre where he appeared in Born in the R.S.A. at Chicago’s Northlight Theatre and in the NY’s Circle in the Square Uptown’s production of Salomé together with Al Pacino.

Equally at home on tv, Vosloo featured in the hit tv series, Bosch (Amazon Prime 2017), The Blacklist (NBC 2019) and Jack Ryan (Amazon Prime 2019) to mention but a few.

Feature films include the famous 1999 film The Mummy (starring Brendan Fraser), as well as its 2001 sequel, The Mummy Returns. In both films he played Imhotep an ancient Egyptian high priest. More recently Vosloo played the lead as Colonel Martin Bach in The Condor’s Nest (MBC Entertainment 2023).

Over the past few years, we have seen more of Vosloo on our local screens with projects such as Griekwastad (Showmax 2019), Ludik (Netflix 2021) and Silverton Siege (Netflix 2021) for which he has just received a SAFTA nomination for Best Supporting Actor.

“Working on local productions was a great experience and made me want for more. It feels good to reconnect with my roots and the local talent is as good as it gets. Working in my mother tongue, Afrikaans, has been especially fulfilling.” says Vosloo.

Vosloo is due back on set next month when he starts work with the original Griekwastad team on a new project that shoots in Cape Town.

“Working in familiar surroundings makes me feel more grounded. The most exciting aspect of working here again is that I get to tell South African stories with fellow South Africans.”

“We are obviously thrilled that Arnold is back at MLA. Arnold is an incredibly talented actor and a consummate professional with a passion for the craft that shines through every performance.

We look forward to working with him.” says Nina Morris Lee, CEO of MLA.

Video