“I Was Completely Alone”: Hlomla Dandala Opens Up About Being Labelled A ‘Coconut’ On Set

Veteran actor Hlomla Dandala has peeled back the curtain on a painful chapter of his career — one that left him isolated, misunderstood and quietly battling a sense of not belonging.

In a raw and deeply personal podcast conversation with actress Dawn Thandeka King, the award-winning star reflected on being labelled a “coconut” by fellow cast members — a term often weaponised in South Africa to question one’s cultural authenticity.

The conversation, which centred on identity, class and the invisible lines within the entertainment industry, struck a nerve with many South Africans who know the sting of being told they’re “not enough” of anything.

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Dandala traced the experience back to his time on the iconic soapie Isidingo, a show that brought together actors from vastly different political, cultural and theatrical backgrounds.

At the time, several of his co-stars were deeply rooted in struggle theatre — performers whose careers were forged in activism as much as art.

“And then in comes me,” Dandala recalled, explaining that unlike many around him, he didn’t have a political pedigree or liberation-theatre background.

That difference, he said, immediately placed him outside the inner circle.

In an industry where language often doubles as identity, Dandala found himself constantly boxed in. Working in English raised eyebrows. Switching to isiZulu or isiXhosa sparked new assumptions. Every choice seemed to cancel out another part of who he was.

Hlomla Dandala ‘You’re In Between’

What made the experience especially painful was how the exclusion played out in everyday moments — not just during rehearsals or filming, but during lunch breaks and downtime on set.

Dandala described set lunches as quietly segregated, with people gravitating toward familiar racial and cultural groups. And then there was him — hovering in the middle.

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Too black for one table. Not black enough for another. Never fully welcome anywhere.

He admitted that the sense of isolation followed him throughout the production, leaving him eating alone and keeping to himself. Attempts to connect were often shut down with dismissive labels that reinforced his outsider status.

It’s a story he says he’s never shared publicly before — choosing to speak now because he felt Dawn Thandeka King would understand the emotional weight behind it.