Everyone loves to hate the bad guy in any movie or tv production, and actor Cornet Mamabolo (32) did just that. Until recently when his role was killed off on 1Magic's The River, Cornet portrayed the role of Lerumo, a serial killer whose heart was broken by a woman he loved, and now takes out his anger on all young women. 

LOOKING BACK

Now that the character has been killed off and the role is done, he looks back at the emotions and time invested in bringing the role to life. "As an actor in most cases before you get your breakthrough into the industry you wish for a show or role that can get you out there, but then when you have a handle on it you start to really want to act,' he says. "The child in you wants to play and explore. You pray for characters and stories to get the child in you alive.' Cornet says the serial killer role was one he had wished for. "Lerumo was that role I knew I had to fall in love with for the audience to genuinely hate,' he says. "It's one of those roles that if the audience really loves you for it, it simply means you have done a bad job as an actor. It's a role that is exciting for an actor but distasteful for the audience.' Looking back at the last scene where Lerumo is killed, he replays the emotions and pressure. "That was a one-take scene. When I shot that scene, I had so much pressure. I had this thing in my mind, that you are only as good as your last performance, as good as your last show. So, I was like, I'm taking a break from this show, and this is the scene where I am leaving. It was so difficult for me to tap into emotions.'

CLOSING THE CHAPTER

Having studied a Bachelor of Arts, Dramatic Arts at the University of Witwatersrand, Cornet began performing arts in 2005 while in high school, at a community theatre in Ivory Park, Tembisa and later moved to the mainstream theatre two years later. He is happy to have been given a chance to live his childhood dreams through this role. "I'm happy I had an opportunity to be a child again and play, to bring him to life. I feel so blessed to be trusted with such an amazing yet dark story,' he says. The Limpopo-born actor announced a year ago that he was officially going on and taking a break from acting to focus on his business ventures.