Chronicle Editor
Michael Magoronga, Midlands Correspondent
When Thompson Muzondiwa lost his mobile phone in 2019 which contained a novel that he intended to publish via social media, he was dejected.
By then, a young Thompson had no plans to venture into acting but fate had other plans.
When he lost the mobile phone, he had written 53 pages.
Instead of rewriting the book, Muzondiwa decided to express himself by putting the concepts and storylines into acting.
That was the birth of Slimy, also known as Baba Junior, a comic character whose dramas and comedies have gone viral on social media platforms.
A soft-spoken actor popular for his naughty Baba Junior character, Muzondiwa has since grown to become a household brand.
Among some of his productions are Complicated affairs, Stingy men association, Shamwari yakaipa zvikuru, Chimoto kuma introductions and Shamwari yemurume.
“I didn’t have any intentions of becoming an actor but when I lost my mobile phone, I decided to put the novel into comedy.
“Before that, I’d tried to form a media company and had a fallout with other colleagues. Interestingly, this also led me to form my own media company MagTom,” said Muzondiwa.
The Covid-19-induced lockdown came in handy for Baba Junior as his dramas were posted on Facebook and went viral as people who were holed up in their homes, resorted to online entertainment.
The name Slimy, the actor said, was derived from his body stature.
“Iam slim so I decided to play along and use that name. Some also call me Baba Junior as I always play the role of a married man,” said the Redcliff-based actor.
He said Mai Junior was not his real-life wife.
“I’m happily married and have a family which has nothing to do with my acting career. Mai Junior is only my wife on set,” he said.
Muzondiwa said when he formed his media company, he got an overwhelming response from people who wanted to act with him but he opted for Mai Junior as she jelled in well with the concept.
He still harbours intentions to publish his novel if he gets enough funding.
“I’m confident that one day, I’ll get sponsorship and be able to publish the novel. For now, I’ll keep addressing social issues that happen in the day-to-day people’s lives through my dramas.”
Born and bred in Gweru, Slimy is now based in the small Redcliff town with all his dramas being recorded there.
“We’re trying to put our small town of Redcliff and Kwekwe on the map. Instead of going to shoot the dramas somewhere else, we decided to do it in our town,” he said.
Advertising deals have already started coming Baba Junior’s way as witnessed by the recent deal he clinched with Zimbabwe Free Riders, a bikers club.
Besides acting, Slimy works for the Ministry of Health and Child Care.
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