Lebohang Lephatsoana is in his mogwera era

The popularity of “mogwera” — the Sepedi word for friend — in pop culture lexicon has been goated. We have to thank unapologetically fem gay character Tumelo in Youngins, portrayed by the equally sassy Lebohang Lephatsoana.

“I identify as gay; my pronouns are he/him. I’m that boy from the Vaal, I get so mad when people call me moghel [slang for girl],” he says, finger snaps, hair flip, and oh yas! Five days before my sit-down with the Sebokeng-born breakout star, the reach of the word in everyday speech since the show’s premiere becomes apparent.

I’m chatting to a friend — a Xhosa mother of two in her early 40s — on WhatsApp when she, for the first time, calls me “mogwera”.

“I like how Tumelo in Youngins says mogwera — it sounds so exotic, I didn’t know the word before him. I know mokgotsi and tsala, which I’ve come to learn are Sotho and Tswana,” she offers in an unsolicited explanation about her discovery. My response? “Screaming! You are finishing me.”

When I show the 23-year-old actor the WhatsApp conversation, he seems chuffed as he sips Chateau Del Rei from a champagne flute. On the show, the phrase has come to define the bromance between Tumelo and his high-school BFF Mahlatse, played by the always sublime Thabiso Ramotshela.

“At the audition he was reserved; I didn’t even think he would get cast,” Lephatsoana says. “As soon as we started getting into the script we clicked. He’s very funny and wonderful. The fact that we have made this friendship come to life on-screen is no small feat.” I’m surprised to learn that “mogwera” was improvised by the two actors and not scripted. “In the script there was a lot of ‘friend’ and ‘chomi’. Then he [Ramotshela] told me that his mom and his friends call each other ‘mogwera’,” Lephatsoana recounts. 

“So, during the scene I was like, ‘mogwera’ and he was like, ‘Oh, are we there, let’s go.’ It just took off from there and it became a signature. Now, I’m even remixing it.” Lephatsoana is still coming to terms with his newfound fame — for instance, he still uses public transport.

This is no surprise, since a year ago he was just a performance art student at The Market Theatre Laboratory. He remembers skipping class late last year to audition for the role. “I won’t say this is the role I was waiting for. I knew that I would get into the industry playing a school kid. But I didn’t think that it would be me reliving my high-school life or getting a gay character or even playing a lead,” he says happily.

“I remember at the meet and greet, Phathu [Makwarela, the show’s creator] told us that we were about to get big, but I took it lightly. This is insane." He went through two auditions and his whole life changed, although it didn’t immediately click when they started shooting last November.

“When I was prepping for the audition, my friends told me this was my role. Even my agent, who accompanied us because a few of us from his agency were auditioning for different characters, was like, ‘My boy, this is huge,’” he says.

“I remember I had this other auction before I got Youngins and they asked me if I had the stamina to play a lead. I asked, ‘What does it take to play a lead?’ They explained that you are at work every day, working long hours. Coming from a theatre background, I’m used to working long hours. So, the work ethic, discipline, and professionalism were already there.”

Through Tumelo and his onscreen love interest Sefako (Tabile Tau), Youngins captures parts of adolescent queerness not seen on local television. Lephatsoana, the youngest of two children, takes pride in being at the forefront of the conversation.

“In my personal journey, it didn’t take a lot for me to be proud of myself because my parents were always there for me,” he says. “I never want any member of the LGBTQI community to feel that in this journey they don’t have support and are alone, that’s not nice. But as much as you are proud, you have to grow a thick skin and take the insults that people throw at you. I feel that, with Tumelo’s story, people get to see that young gay boys become vulnerable in the name of love, even if it’s toxic. As much as Sefako is uncomfortable with his sexuality and treats Tumelo like sh*t in the presence of others, when they are together it’s a safe space. It’s ok to be proud and vulnerable at the same time.”

Lephatsoana highlights that the world still has a long way to go — beyond tolerance, there needs to be acceptance, understanding, and appreciation of the LGBTQI community.

“We are proud and unapologetic about who we are, but sometimes it still gets to me,” he confesses. “When I get home, I’m just glad that God and my ancestors protected me and ensured I got home safe and alive because things can escalate fast, from name calling to something more dangerous.”

Not one to hide behind political correctness, Lephatsoana admits that in the beginning he was nervous about filming the saucy love scenes with Tau. “When we started, I told myself, ‘Lebohang, you are trained to be a professional actor and everything that happens here must be professional,’” he says.

“For the first time I kissed a boy and I wasn’t aroused. I patted myself on the back for having the discipline, because he’s also this hot actor. Separating myself from Tumelo was very important. But now that we have grown together, it’s more relaxed.”

Now that the world is watching, the sky is the limit for Lephatsoana. He wants to do it all — presenting, singing, dancing, and photography.