“I pray in tongues. I’m a young man who prays in tongues, I rebuke the devil,” Thabiso Molokomme bursts out laughing, explaining that, in real life, he’s nothing like his bad-boy character Paxton Kgomo.
The 23-year-old has nailed the Skeem Saam script portraying the spoiled, selfish, reckless, and rebellious son of Mr Kgomo (Lebohang Elephant) and Ivy Kgomo (Molobane Mbatha). While Molokomme has delivered a star-making performance on the SABC 1 daily drama, when he steps on set escorted by an entourage of two friends (Lerato and Mogomotsi), it’s evident that he’s nothing like Paxton.
Brimming with energy and overflowing with joy, Molokomme lights up the room with natural comedic timing and an effervescent personality. “Most people will be surprised to learn that I’m a Christian and have devoted my life to Jesus. I’m a sweet boy who serves at church,” he says, beaming.
The middle child of three, Molokomme was born in Seshego Zone 4, Polokwane. He mentions that his family in strong on academics. After high school, he studied operations management at the University of Johannesburg (UJ). For the past three years he has devoted his time to Skeem Saam and his religion, and he’s ready to be more outgoing in the new year.
“I want to be more social, have more fun, and go to social events,” he says. “I don’t want to be a recluse anymore, that’s my 2025 resolution. I don’t drink or club. I’m always on set. I love travelling, that’s what I do for fun. I don’t date, I have never dated before, but I get many DMs. In university I wanted to succeed at academics, so that was the focus, because my sister was a top student at UJ. I do want to date, but I feel like I’m busy, still young, and getting to know myself. I’m not ready for a relationship.”
Before he was cast on Skeem Saam, Molokomme was a presenter on SABC 1 youth programme YoTV. “I made a deal with my mom that, when I moved to Joburg, I would join an acting agency,” he says. “I wanted to study at UCT [University of Cape Town], but she wanted me closer to her. So, my one demand was joining an acting agency. My first year of varsity, I would skip class to go to auditions and I never got a single one. My second year, my agent sent me to a YoTV audition and I never wanted to be a presenter. After six rounds of auditions — everyone wanted to be on YoTV — I got it.”
A year and half later, Molokomme was asked to audition for the role that has made him a household name. He notes that he first auditioned for another character in the soapie when he was in grade 11 and wasn’t cast.
“Skeem Saam reached out to me to try for the role of Paxton — they had been looking for some time, but weren’t satisfied,” he remembers. “I was excited, Skeem Saam had just asked me to come audition. I messed up four times in the audition room, the nerves just hit me hard. When I left, I was sure that I wasn’t getting the role, and then I got the gig.”
Wherever Paxton goes, drama and trouble follow. Molokomme enjoys sinking his teeth into the nuanced writing. “It’s so nice to play a bad boy,” he says. “The audience just want to slap him most of the time. I’m nothing like Paxton, I’m the opposite. I’ve never been that person. In high school I had intense classmates who were the bad boys. Then you had the cool kids, who were always admired by the girls. Now, I get to play that handsome bad boy, very naughty and admired by girls. It’s nice.”
In 2022, when he was 20, he graduated cum laude at UJ. His graduation pictures went viral on social media and that’s when he knew he had arrived. “When I joined Skeem Saam, I just thought acting was this cool thing. When I was given my first script, my producer told me my life was about to change,” he says.
“At the time, I didn’t understand it, I thought they were referring to my getting a pay cheque or maybe getting more followers on social media. But the attention I have received since has gone beyond my expectations.”
Molokomme is also an entrepreneur, as the founder of start-up skincare business Ba Kene. “We have three products. Our target market is young people, particularly teenagers,” he says. “We want to educate young people to take better care of their skin so that they can better manage acne as young adults. A lot of people only start taking care of their skin once they are going through something.
"It gets overwhelming and expensive when you deal with skin impurities. When I was a pre-teen, my older sister advised me to take care of my skin and recommended some products. I have never had bad skin because of that advice. That’s why I started Ba Kene — so I could be a big brother to young people the same way my sister was to me.”
