WATCH: Meet South Africa’s very own Tarzan from George

DeWet Du Toit’s childhood dream wasn’t to become a fireman or an astronaut, he had a much bigger vision for himself – he wanted to be Hollywood’s next Tarzan on the silver screen.

DeWet and his twin brother, Rudolf, have nurtured and worked tirelessly on this dream for the past 12 years, producing short videos for his YouTube channel with its 207 000 subscribers.

He has racked up an amazing 50 million views with his very entertaining low-budget Tarzan short films, and he’s doing it all with the hope that Hollywood will notice him and make him the next Tarzan.

Considered a super hero in his own right, Tarzan has taken a back seat in recent years in favour of other super hero movies such as Aquaman, Thor, X-men, Venom, Ant Man and the legion of other Marvel superhero movies.

The last Tarzan film was released in 2016, but according to a report by The Hollywood Reporter, Sony Pictures has picked up the screen rights to the classic hero and are reportedly planning on reinventing Edgar Rice Buroughs’ character for the 21^st century.

Could this mean that DeWet’s dream will finally become a reality?

The Citizen sat down with the actor and his ‘side-kick’ and twin brother, Rudolf, to talk about their recently launched five-part series Tarzan van George which aired on kykNET on Sunday, 26 February, and their dream of making it to Hollywood and producing their new short film, Tarzan Never Dies.

Watch the interview with Africa’s very own Tarzan below:

Tarzan van George

Produced by well-known radio and TV presenter, Rian van Heerden, the five-episode series look at the history of Tarzan over the years. Viewers also get to meet DeWet’s family who explains his fascination with the character, we follow DeWet and Rudolph all the way to Los Angeles where he visits Hollywood Boulevard in his Tarzan costume.

Fascinated with Tarzan from a young age

DeWet says he was about 6 or 7-years-old when he first starting reading the Tarzan comic strips, but he only really got much deeper involved with the character in his early 20’s when he started reading the books.

“At the time, I read an article online that said Hollywood is going to make a new Tarzan movie and that they are looking for an unknown actor to cast in the role. This is when I decided to really go for it, because I am an unknown actor, so I really started getting into character and started making short films and doing photo shoots to see how far I can actually go.”

Rudolf got involved with Tarzan at the same time, and the two brothers worked together to make their short films. Rudolf didn’t only man the camera, sometimes he was also involved in some of the scenes of the films they made.

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Getting into character

We’ve all come to know Tarzan as a dark-haired Adonis with chiselled abs and sculpted arms and legs and with Africa’s real Tarzan, DeWet this is no different.

The actor says he still enjoys his KFC, and he is less strict on his diet during the ‘off seasons’.

“Normally, when I get closer to a film shoot, lets say about three months before we’re due to start on a short film or Tarzan project, I follow a much stricter diet – high protein, less carbs and KFC, and go to the gym five days a week,” DeWet explains.

Rudolf says they are both very active, outdoors people so picking up weight is not really a concern for them.

A day in the life of Tarzan

As an actor, DeWet doesn’t have a 9 – 5 job and usually starts his day at the gym, which he says, anchors him for the day. When the brothers are done pumping iron, they collaborate their ideas and work on some scripts – both for Tarzan projects and other projects.

When the work is done, the brothers head out for a hike in the Outeniqua Mountains.

For DeWet, there isn’t only a single big achievement that stands out. He says everyday is an achievement for them because they’ve come so far.

“It’s such a long process to get where you want to be and every time you embark on a new project, it opens some new doors for you. The project with kykNET is definitely one of our biggest achievements, as we went to America which opened a lot of doors for us.”

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Future plans

DeWet and Rudolf’s short film Tarzan Never Dies will be released soon after their five-episode series, Tarzan van George finishes on kykNET. Without giving anything away, DeWet says there are also some exciting projects in the pipeline after their visit to Los Angeles.

The brothers are planning on permanently relocating to Los Angeles soon to further their acting careers. “Los Angeles is the Mecca of film making and the timing is also right for us to make the move.”

Still searching for Jane

Both DeWet and Rudolf are still single, searching for their Jane. When asked what qualities he looks for in a woman, DeWet jokingly says that she must be able to ride an elephant.  

“In real life though,” DeWet says his perfect Jane is an outdoor person who loves nature, has a lot of self-respect for herself, loves to move around freely and is not bound to routine and rules,” says DeWet.  

Tarzan van George starts on Sunday, 26 February, 8pm on kykNET (DStv channel 144) and will be available on Catch Up.