A biography for John Kanihasn’t been written yet.
“In 'Lion King,' the music is brilliant. The CGI is amazing.”
“And I'm part of the generation of South Africans who feel we're lucky to be alive.”
“In any character you are given to play, be it evil/good/whatever character, you begin with self. You examine yourself and ruthlessly see similarities between you and the devil, or between you and the dictator, or between you and the kind man.”
“I believe strongly that the word 'protest' is no excuse for bad work. The artist must create.”
“Shakespeare's words paint pictures in glorious colour in my language. They were written by a man whose use of words fits exactly into Xhosa.”
“My stories are about humanity, about the challenges of surviving and the constant fight against ignorance, inhumanity and complacency.”
“Everything you do on stage is always a response to something, not the next line.”
“When you write as an artist, you just tell a story and people say it addresses issues.”
“In 1973, 'Sizwe Banzi is Dead' and 'The Island,' which I co-wrote with Athol Fugard and Winston Ntshona, transferred from The Royal Court Theatre to the Ambassadors Theatre in the West End.”
“'Sizwa Banzi' is the life of the black man. We look at it, laugh at it, re-examine it, but we do not change it.”
“We haven't got those dreams: 'I wish to become doctor or a lawyer.' Black people in South Africa have been barred in doing anything that would articulate their cause.”
“In 1990 there were about 300 scripts being written demanding the release of Nelson Mandela. And suddenly we watched Mandela walking out of prison. So those scripts had to be destroyed.”
“When I'm abroad it's almost like I'm in a transit lounge. I'm only comfortable when I know the date of departure.”
“I started to get my doctorate, not to be called 'doctor.' Those are just little things you get to get recognition.”
“Very rarely in the life of an actor and a performer do you do something you truly believe in, do you do something you are absolutely proud of.”
“In the global push to stop gender-based violence, men in the entertainment industry need to join forces with women to end violence by men against women and children.”
“I'd read Shakespeare in school, translated into isiXhosa, and loved the stories, but I hadn't realised before I started reading the English text how powerful the language was - the great surging speeches Othello has.”
“I'm Dad at home, not John Kani.”
“I spent 51 years under apartheid. I don't imagine suffering. I know it.”
“Our job as artists, we believe, is not to make changes in society. We don't have the ability to do that. We reflect life. We are the mirror of the society to look into. Our job is to raise questions, but we have no answers.”