She was once a familiar face on South African television, but former Generations: The Legacy actress Mahlatse Letoka has walked away from the acting world for good, choosing a life in ministry instead. In a candid reflection on her career and her new calling, she revealed that the decision to leave the spotlight was one she has never regretted.
"I quit acting a few years ago, and I don’t plan to go back," she stated.
Letoka, who studied drama, never quite felt at home in the acting profession. She explained that she felt a sense of disconnect with almost every role she portrayed, a feeling of being out of place that ultimately made her uncomfortable. This sense of unease wasn't just about the characters she played; it extended to the very nature of fame itself. She admitted that she didn't enjoy being in the limelight, finding that the reality of fame was very different from what she had imagined.
"I just wanted to act and not everything that came with fame," she said.
Letoka's self-esteem took a significant hit while she was in the entertainment industry. She felt that her profession led people to not take her seriously. She shared that while she was confident in her younger years, acting caused her to lose her self-assurance. The public's reaction to her work—a mix of love and hate—was particularly damaging. The constant criticism she faced on social media made things even more difficult.
"People’s comments always destroyed my confidence," she recalled. "I always tried to run away from being there. That is why I would sometimes deactivate my social media account."
Navigating her acting career while maintaining her Christian faith was another major struggle. Letoka is a born-again Christian who now spends her time warning people about the coming rapture. She spoke about the difficulty of balancing her spiritual beliefs with the demands of her profession. She was introduced to Greek mythology during her art and acting school days, but she made it clear that her faith in Jesus remained.
"When I got to university, I wasn’t living right, and my relationship with God wasn’t right," she confessed. "The war between the kingdom of good and darkness is real."
Some of the roles she took on were particularly heavy and felt awkward to her. In Generations: The Legacy, she played Xolelwa, a character who endured extreme hardships, including being homeless, getting kidnapped, and being forced into prostitution. The role came to an end after her storyline was written out of the script.
"I had to do research on human trafficking for this role, and it was very heavy for me," she explained.
She also took on roles as Kone Makwarela in Thola and Thato Namanyane in Freedom. However, even with these roles, she never felt a true sense of belonging. "When I was an actor, I always felt out, like I did not belong. Some of the scenes they made us do felt awkward," she added.
Now, her focus is on her ministry and sharing her message about the "last days" or "Judgement Day." She finds that many people don’t take the concept of the rapture seriously. "People think it’s a joke and don’t take it seriously," she said. It's a stark contrast to her previous life, one where she grappled with the superficiality of fame and the weight of roles that often felt at odds with her personal beliefs. For Mahlatse Letoka, the shift from a television star to a woman of faith wasn't just a career change; it was a necessary transformation to find her true purpose and peace.
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