Papa G (born Darlington Michaels) is a renowned South African actor. He is popular for appearing on Isidingo for sixteen years, since 1998. On the show, he played the role of Georgie Zamdela (a.k.a Papa G), a flamboyant gangster. In 2012, he also cast as conman Daliza in Chandies, an Mzansi Magic sitcom.
The actor has gained the love of television viewers for the role he played on one of South Africa’s loved television series Isidingo.
Profile
| Name | Darlington Michaels |
| Other names | Papa G |
| Nationality | South African |
| Gender | Male |
| Baby Mama | Xoli Mkhize |
| Years active in Isindigo | 16 years |
Sickness
In 2015, the veteran actor made headlines when he suffered a stroke. The stroke was so serious that he had to use the support of a wheelchair.
Later, Papa G accused the producers of the popular show, Isindigo of not supporting him when he needed them. He quit the show after which reports had it that the producers of the tried to “woo” him back.
“After working on a show for 16 years, I was very hurt when I didn’t get any support from them during the time I was sick,”.
Baby Mama
In 2016, The Citizen reported that the veteran was accused of cheating by his girlfriend and baby mama. The report detailed that she accused Papa G of cheating with a new actress in his theatre.
Darlington was dating his longtime actress girlfriend, Xoli Mkhize. The couple was in a relationship for over a decade when his baby mama decided to leave.
Mkhize left the veteran actor for allegedly cheating on her with Khanyi Hempe, who was twenty-nine years at that time.
Career
In an interview session, he shared how he got the role that brought him fame. The last episode of the show aired on Thursday, 12 March 2020.
Many expressed their sadness on getting to know that that was the last episode. Papa G thrilled others upon being on-air on The Morning Flava breakfast show the next day.
He played the role of Georgie “Papa G” Zamdela for sixteen years on the soap opera. According to Darlington, he attended the audition for the role five times before finally getting it.
He said that he attended the audition dressed in the swag that the character “Papa G” is known for. He did not know that the producers of the show found it impressive. Fifty hopefuls came for an audition and later it reduced to seven and then one.
“Georgie Zamdela was just a piece of paper and Darlington was the one who gave him the swag and the lingo” .