How Lindani Nkosi took over from Barker Haines: I’m not the evil person everyone thinks I am

Lindani Nkosi has been holding down the role of Lincoln Sibeko on Isidingo for several years, but says that his devious character is not evil enough to be classified as the ultimate villain on TV screens.

Lincoln has made more enemies than a politician during floor crossing season,but Lindani told TshisaLIVE that he is taking it all in his stride.

"I don't know if I am the biggest villain on TV. You got very powerful roles that are going around currently at the moment but the villain role is kind of inevitable because the role demands suspense and drama," he explained

He said the departure of Barker, played by Robert Whitehead,  forced the show's writers to put a lot of the load on Lindani's character.

"When you read the work you have to do, the idea of transforming into this character, you see how human he is and the things he has to go through."

Still, the idea of him as a badman has stuck and even though fans sometimes want to  stop and give Lindani a good talking to, they are nice to him because of his character's nature and his status as a public figure.

"I tend to get feedback when I look for it and I ignore what is said on social media. It is compromised at times when people meet you. They want to be nice to you, so they tell you they enjoy you. But I would love to hear the negative criticism. I embrace it because it helps me improve."

He said one of the misconceptions about him was that he is as calculated and cold as his character.

"I really am nothing like my character. When I walk on set, I take on that personae but when I leave set, I leave it behind."