Gys de Villiers
Gys de Villiers (1960-) is an actor, voice artist and sculptor.
The name Gys de Villiers was also used for some of his one-act plays by his father, Dirk de Villiers.
Contents
Biography
The son of film-maker and playwright Dirk de Villiers, he was born Dirk Gysbert de Villiers in Roodepoort on 4 November, 1960. To avoid confusion with his father, he was usually called Gys de Villiers, a name he would use in his theatre and film career.
He matriculated at Hoërskool Linden and then enrolled for a Performer's Diploma in Speech and Drama at the University of Cape Town, but only completed the first year of the three-year course.
After school he began his national military service in Kimberley. During his second year there he met Lochner de Kock and Marie Human in Windhoek – it was there that he did his first professional acting.
In 1983 he joined PACT and for the first 10 years of his career he only did theatre work. He appeared in numerous theatre productions during this time.
He lived in Johannesburg with his life partner, Jaci Smith. They moved to New York in April 2015.
Contribution to SA theatre, film, media and/or performance
His first professional role was in Die Drie Van Der Walts.
Work for PACT includes Die Spinner (with its anti-war sentiment), as well as Diepe Grond and Sing jy van Bomme, which truly delved into the Afrikaner psyche. He was one of the ascters in Outers, He also starred in Reza de Wet’s Diepe Grond together with Susan Coetzer, Dawid Minnaar and Doris Sihula under Lucille Gillwald’s direction at Upstairs at the Market in 1986. He starred in Die Sakeman van Venesië at the Alexander Theatre in 1991, Uit die Bloute in 2008,Siener in die Suburbs by P.G. du Plessis, directed by Chris Vorster, KKNK, 2002, Suig 2004. He also directed Rooikaart at the Aardklop Festival in 2011.
He has also appeared in Scoring a Goal; Kabarette; The Seagull; It's a Boy; Wag tot Donker Kom; Al my Seuns; Vereeniging, Vereeniging; Hamlet Machine; Woyzeck; Bloed in die Strate.
His television credits include Die Genesis Kontrak; Dood van Elmien Adler and Op die Grens.
He had a roles in the TV miniseries Arende (Dirk de Villiers, 1987/88), Triptiek 1 (1993), Die Vierde Kabinet (1998), Binnelanders (2005-2006), Jozi H and 7de Laan (2000-2001), Malan en Kie (2008).
De Villiers has also acted in numerous feature films, including City of Blood (1983), The Stick (1987), On the Wire (1990), Dangerous Ground (1997), Tarzan and the Lost City (1998), Inside Out (2000) and Zoop in Afrika (2005).
Awards, etc
Gys de Villiers was awarded as best Afrikaans actor as supporting actor in Diepe Grond in 1986.
Nominee 1991 Gys de Villiers in In Kamera (Anton de Waal Award for best actor in a leading role in Afrikaans); Gys de Villiers in Die Sakeman van Venesië (Johannesburg Civic Theatre Award for best actor in a supporting role in Afrikaans);
Sources
"Gys de Villiers" on the TVSA website [1]
"Gys de Villiers" on the Thespians website[2]
Outers programme notes, 1985(??).
Beeld, 10 January 1985.
Krit, 1 April 1996.
Die Oggendblad, 6 May 2004.
Beeld, 26 September 2011.
Die Burger 24 August 2015.
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