Zimbabwean actor stars in top American comedy

Hollywood-based Zimbabwean actor Tongayi Arnold Chirisa features in The Jim Gaffigan Show that is set to make a debut appearance on Comedy Central.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, the comedy revolves around Jim (Gaffigan) a guy who lives with his wife Jeannie (Mira Sorvino) and five kids in a 2-bedroom New York apartment.

Interestingly, Chirisa plays the role of Father Nicholas Ngungumbane, a Catholic priest from Zimbabwe, who recently moved to New York, and who tries to convince Jim to regularly come to church.

The Jim Gaffigan Show, co-written by Gaffigan and Peter Tolan, made a pilot appearance on CBS in January last year. It is one of several roles Chirisa has landed since he relocated to America a few years ago.

Other high profile roles he has had in America include a part in Crusoe as Man Friday (2008), American Horror Story: Asylum as Miles (2012) and the American supernatural drama television series called Sleepy Hollow that premiered on Fox 2 last year.

Chirisa first made his mark on the local scene with his role as Detective Trevor Davies in Zimbabwe's first soapie, Studio 263. He then moved to neighbouring South Africa where he landed several roles in productions such as Leon Schuster's Mr Bones 2 as Hekule the King of Kuvukiland.

The former Studio 263 actor is arguably Zimbabwe's most successful actor at the moment.

Another local actor who has fared well on the American acting scene is Danai Gurira who is making a mark in the American horror series, The Walking Dead where she plays Michonne.

Leeroy Gopal, who rose to fame in Zimbabwe as Tiyane Tsumba in the film Yellow Card, is also another local actor who deserves plaudits.

Gopal broke into the South African acting industry on the soapie Backstage where he played the role of Duma Mzamo and later landed roles in top South African film productions like Hola Mpinji, Home Affairs, Generations, Jozi-H, One Way and Ses'Top La.