Pallance Dladla

Pallance Dladla (born August 22, 1992) is a South African actor. He has received multiple awards and nominations, including the SAFTA Award. Dladla first gained recognition as a runner-up on the second season of Class Act. He lost to eventual winners Abdul Khoza and Tumie Ngumla, whom he later would work with in the SABC1 drama series Tempy Pusha.

Dladla has had roles in various television shows, including the drama series 4Play: Sex Tips for Girls, Intersexions, Isibaya, Rhythm City, Is'Thunzi, and the aforementioned drama-comedy Tempy Pushas. His first leading role in a big-budget production came with the drama film Hard to Get (2014). In 2019, Dladla starred in the Netflix thriller series Shadow, as the title character Shadrach "Shadow" Khumalo.

Early life
Dladla was born in the Johannesburg, Gauteng province of South Africa. He was raised in the township of Soweto. Dladla grew up without his father and was raised by his grandfather. According to Dladla his grandfather named him "Pallance" after his favourite actor, Jack Palance. He attended Parktown Boys' High School in Wellington Road near Park town Mansion.

2006–2010: Career beginnings
Dladla developed a love for acting at a young age. In 2010 he participated in the Milk and Bread nationwide DALRO scholarship competition, where his self-penned play was a runner up. While at school, Dladla won the Parktown Boys High Original Script Award along with the Best Actor Award. Dladla went on to win the Most Prestigious Best Actor Award in the ACT/DALRO/Nedbank Scholarships Development.

2011–2012: Class Act and breakthrough
In 2011, while accompanying a friend to audition for Class Act, Dladla made an impromptu decision to also audition in the talent search competition broadcast nationally by SABC1. Dladla reached the final stage of Class Act 2011. He received acclaim from the likes of Darryl Roodt, who directed the Academy Award nominated film Yesterday. Dladla ultimately lost the competition to Abdul Khoza in the final public voting.

In 2012, alongside Xolile Tshabalala, Kgomotso Christopher, Tiffany Jones, and Cheryl Ladd, he played a starring role as Jimmy in the etv drama series 4Play: Sex Tips for Girls - Season 3. That same year, he had a cameo role as "Mohato" in the British drama series Wild at Heart.

2013-2014
In 2013, he played the role of Sizwe on the SABC1 drama series Intersexions. In the same year he starred as the character of X on SABC 1 comedy-drama Tempy Pushas. In season 3 of the series he was replaced by Luzuko Nteleko. Shortly after, he landed a starring role in the Mzansi Magic soap-opera Isibaya, where he portrayed the character Jabulani "Jabu" Zungu. He was part of the original cast since the show began. Dladla received acclaim for his performance as a supporting actor in the action movie iNumber Number (2013).

In June 2014, Dladla joined the e.tv soapie Rhythm City, taking over the role of Sibusiso Vilakazi, previously played by Lungile Radu. In addition, Dladla was cast in the romantic drama film Hard to Get alongside Thishiwe Ziqubu and Israel Makoe. The film garnered a range of positive user reviews.

2016-2017
From 2016-2017, Dladla had a recurring role as Duke in the Mzansi Magic-Doug Liman directed drama Is'thunzi.

Present
In 2019, Dladla starred in the Netflix thriller series Shadow as title character Shadrach "Shadow" Khumalo. Fellow cast members include Amanda Du-Pont, Khathu Ramabulana, and Tumie Ngumla. Shadow was Netflix's first South African original series and it premiered on 8 March 2019.

Personal life
Dladla enjoys dancing and watching movies in his spare time. His favorite movies include Scarface, Training Day and Mean Streets. Dladla has cited Al Pacino, Denzel Washington, and Johnny Depp as his favorite actors. Dladla is friends with Sdumo Mtshali, with whom he starred in Tempy Pushas, IsiBaya, iNumber Number and Hard to Get.