By Prudence Minayo
Master, real name Ernest Onyango, is a Kenyan actor whose popularity soared courtesy of his role on the TV show Zora. His rise to top is a combination of talent, hard work and persistence.
Age
The actor was born on November 4, 1995. The 26 year old took to social media to thank Rashid Abdalla and his wife Lulu Hassan for giving him an opportunity to star in Zora, a TV series produced by the couple.
His post read:
Thanks be to Almighty God for His blessings . I wanna take this great opportunity to thank everyone who has ever believed in this guy(mum be blessed) it hasn’t been easy but we’re here .A big thank you to my bosses @loulou_hassan and @rashidyabdalla for making 25 a good one Mungu awazidishie for the opportunity you gave me @jiffypictures where I met amazing crew who are like family now (watu kuchapa kazi). Thank you God for the gift of life… 25 was good welcome 26 happy birthday Ernest Onyango
Career
Ernest did not harbor dreams of becoming an actor although he had a feeling he could do a good job at it if he was given an opportunity. After high school, he accompanied a friend for an audition and that was how he got himself into the field of acting.
Like most actors, he kick-started his career by playing roles in set books. They travelled countrywide to perform in schools and this honed his skills to become the actor he is today. The pay was not much but it was passion that drove them. He could not even afford to pay rent at times and was once locked out of his house. He was fired via a text and was not compensated for a gig they had performed.
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Not one to give up, he joined Planet theatre and got more exposure in the industry. The actor knew the importance of networking and whenever he got a chance he’d form connections.
Soon, he began doing TV commercials with the first being a bank advertisement. He gave his all to whatever he did and was called for more gigs. He then sent different proposals to Jiffy Pictures hoping for an opportunity to get into the hit TV series Zora.
The actor has played roles on other TV shows like Selina aired on Maisha Magic East, Majuto among others.
Zora
Luckily, he had formed some connections in the industry and got an opportunity to take part in Zora as a minor character. In the series, he portrays the character Master, who is a friend to the main character Zora (Sara Hassan).
He got into trouble with the law and was sent to jail. Upon returning, he chose to stay on the right side of the law and do something meaningful with his life. Before landing this role on Zora, Master had been in the industry for close to seven years.
