Biography
Zakes Mokae was a South African stage and screen actor. Born in Johannesburg, he began his career as a jazz saxophonist before turning to acting in the 1950s alongside playwright Athol Fugard. Their collaborations included The Blood Knot and "Master Harold"...and the Boys, the latter earning Mokae the 1982 Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play.
He appeared in films such as Cry Freedom (1987) as Father Kani, A Dry White Season (1989), The Serpent and the Rainbow (1988), Outbreak (1995) and Waterworld (1995). Television credits included guest roles in The X-Files, The West Wing, Oz and Monk. Mokae moved to the United Kingdom in 1961 and the United States in 1969; he died in Las Vegas in 2009.
