It's not hard coming up with all sorts of bad jokes when writing about a film called Son of Man. Especially when you've had the unique experience of watching the film with the cast and realised you're sitting next to Pontius Pilate and Mary was the woman you ran into in the bathroom.
It's a little hard to crack those jokes though, when meeting the man himself, Andile Kosi, 38, who plays Jesus in the newest Dimpho di Kopano (DDK) film. (That's the same company that brought us uCarmen eKhayelitsha).
At first, Kosi seems rather serious, attentively listening to questions, carefully answering in measured tones, not really giving anything away.
Then, when asked how he feels about acting on screen, his face lights up and his demeanour changes. His gestures become expansive and his broad smile reaches his eyes.
"I've been singing all the way through from church. I love music very much, but when I joined DDK in 2000 acting was brand-new. I cannot explain how I like it, how I enjoy it. I like acting very, very much," he said.
He has been working with DDK since its inception, in 2000, and first played an angel, then the king and finally Jesus in the stage production The Mysteries.
In 2004, as they worked on uCarmen eKhayelitsha, they workshopped turning The Mysteries into a film, which is how they came to Son of Man.
Though he's gone from celestial being to bad guy to ultimate good guy, Kosi found the hardest part to be literally playing Jesus.
"I had to use my brains and think and read between the lines. How must he have done whatever he had to do? But all the time I was me inside, so it was me, with the character. It was quite challenging."
Back when DDK held their first auditions Kosi was working for the department of agriculture, but felt out of place in a quiet office job, so he jumped at the chance to audition for a new opera.
When he pitched up at the audition though, everyone was given a script and told to "read the part". That wasn't what he'd expected, but he must have made an impression on someone, because he was called back.
When told he would have to relocate to Cape Town for at least five months his bosses weren't too impressed, but Kosi took the chance and now, almost 10 years later, he's not only travelled overseas, but found something he loves doing.
"For most of us, uCarmen was the first movie and we were so used to working on stage.
"During the rehearsals Mark (Donford-May) would sit at the top of the audience seats, right at the back, and shout so you would project and make sure that you were heard by everyone when you are performing.
"So that's what we had to work on very hard when we made uCarmen, because we were so used to saying our lines, giving them out like that, but now we had to tone it down."
On Son of Man everyone got involved behind the scenes when they weren't acting in front of the camera.
"It was a low-budget film, so most of us were involved in the crew. I would do my scene and then later become a security guard for the car. Others would help with the grips or the make-up.
"It's good experience. You never know when you'll come across something that will take you."
Son of Man is on circuit nationwide.
