When actor Unathi Mkhize steps onto the set of his cover shoot on a chilly autumn morning, a day after the Easter long weekend, his glow lights up the room.
It’s not just his fresh smile and smooth skin; there is a light from within, oozing from his vigour and joy.
In that moment, it becomes clear to me that without wellness, there is no beauty. Now more than ever, the world is catching up to the idea that beauty comes from the inside out.
The 27-year-old heartthrob understands this holistic approach to inner health all too well, and in his daily skin routine, there is always a linkage between mind, body and external aesthetics to enhance his physical radiance.
When we break for a lunchtime chat later in the day, I learn that the beauty philosophy of “skin first” — dedicating quality care to grooming rather than covering flaws — is the backbone of his collaboration with the Nivea Derma Control deodorant range.
“Nivea is one of those brands where you get a brief and you just feel like that brief is for you,” he says.
“Other brands … want to put you into their world. Nivea wants to come into your world. Then they come up with a new product that you didn’t think of. It’s not like you’re doing a normal deodorant. They are saying, ‘Have you ever thought of underarm skincare?’ And I started to think, I haven’t, so let me try this product. I’ve been using it. I’m a huge believer in using the products you promote.”
Born in uMzimkhulu on KZN’s south coast, the middle child of three boys admits he was never the popular one while growing up.
“A lot of these things are for my younger self. I was tiny and skinny,” he says.
“I also had like these weird sores on my head. In my primary-school phase, no girl wanted me. There is a young kid in me that’s bruised. I remember that young kid in me searching for a place, belonging, approval, and external validation. I just want to prove to that guy that this is a life worth living. There is love worth giving. I offer something to the world. I share great energy, and that’s my purpose in life, trying to build a connection from that broken young man to the man that I am right now.”
Mkhize follows a strict schedule for his workout routine and for fuelling his body. No surprise that he has the body of a Greek god. When he takes his shirt off on set, everyone is thirsting over his muscular torso. “5am is my wake-up time,” he shares.
“Every day I have to do a 5km run, that’s really to shed the fat and keep the six-pack alive. Then, every day, it’s two hours of gym. If I’m doing hyrox, I specify the workout, and at the moment, I’m trying to work towards getting bigger for hyrox. So I do more bodybuilding stuff.”
Having attended eight different schools by the time he was in matric, Mkhize notes that a creative career has always been his first choice.
“I was the worst when it came to academics, and then there was this teacher,” he remembers. “She came to me and said, ‘Let’s go to a poetry class.’ It was the first time in my life that I was good at something. I was stimulated. From that moment, I’ve never looked back. It has been my safe place.”
Before his breakout role in The River as playboy Nkanyiso Hlophe in 2022, Mkhize was a lecturer at Afda Joburg, where he also obtained his honours degree in editing and directing. He had a smaller role on Is’phindiselo before hitting it big. Since The River, he has had supporting roles in Roomies, Levels, Blood Legacy and Ithonga. For his next role, he won’t settle for anything less than leading man.
“I’ve probably rejected three or four roles offered to me this year that were supporting — I’m not interested in doing that at the moment,” he says.
“I want something that’s going to challenge me and bring more range. Sometimes it’s not that you don’t have range, but you don’t have the space to show it. So I’m searching for the space to show it. I’ve done quite challenging and different roles from what I thought I would do. I thought I was going to be typecast as the ‘cheese-boy’.”
But his most important role is the one he plays at home, being a proud father and fiancé.
“Fatherhood is the best thing. When my child was born, I was still on The River. I was so scared. It was three years ago, so I was 25. It was an oops,” he shares.
“But luckily, it was with a long-time partner. Now it’s the best thing ever. You see life from a different perspective. My son sees things in the simplest terms, which also helps me calm down and understand. You don’t need a lot of the external things to make you happy.”
