Robert Whitehead: ‘I don’t like Afrikaans’

‘My Afrikaans is terrible, I don’t like it,’ says legendary ‘Isidingo’ actor Robert Whitehead who portrayed the villainous Barker Haines.

Celebrated actor Robert Whitehead recently opened up about his childhood, living overseas and why he doesn’t speak Afrikaans.

‘MY AFRIKAANS IS TERRIBLE’

The award-winning actor Robert Whitehead reveals on David Mashabela’s podcast, King David Studios that he doesn’t like the Afrikaans language.

He also reveals that he was born in Johannesburg and spend most of the seventies out of the country.

“I went to London to study further. I wanted to do interior design. You always had to have another career because theatre wasn’t real.”

His parents eventually allowed him to study drama, but he was very shy. He also reveals that he doesn’t watch himself on TV.

When he came back to South Africa there was a white theatre and black theatre.

The radio personality and podcaster David Mashabela asks the actor: “How’s your Afrikaans?”

Whitehead replies that it’s terrible, he’s never improved or tried to work at it because he doesn’t like it.

“It didn’t sit well with me. It’s very different now but then, I was not keen to talk.”

“I didn’t like Afrikaans; I wasn’t happy with it, and I didn’t talk it very well. I didn’t do well at it, not even at school.”

[WATCH ENTIRE VIDEO BELOW]

ROBERT WHITEHEAD: POPULAR TV ROLES
The fan-favourite South African actor Robert Whitehead is famously known for his role as Barker Haines in S3’s canned soapie Isidingo.

TVSA reveals that Whitehead has also appeared in SABC2’s Xitsonga telenovela Giyani: Land of Blood.

He’s also starred in MNet’s canned telenovela Legacy as Archibald Wright and Family Secrets as Harold Stone.

Whitehead has also appeared in Shaka Zulu, Diamond Hunters, Isiphindiselo and many more.