Stelio Savante, a New York-based actor, producer, filmmaker, and former Capetonian, has joined thousands of South Africans in celebrating the South African Supreme Court’s decision on citizenship. According to the court report, it is unconstitutional for South Africans to lose their citizenship when acquiring citizenship from other countries. The verdict comes after the Democratic Alliance (DA) filed an appeal against a high court order that initially dismissed the party’s claim that the legislation violated the South African constitution. This new judgement, however, restored SA citizenship to all people who had lost it.
Savante, who has 135 international credits, recounted the joy that he and other South Africans were feeling: “I gratefully wake to celebrate with the tens of thousands of fellow South Africans who’d unnecessarily and inadvertently been deprived of their citizenship courtesy of a flawed and contradictory law that violated international human rights.”
Stelio, like many others, was caught off guard by a law enacted many years after he arrived in the United States. He was personally informed of his excommunication and deprivation of South African citizenship, and he promptly appealed to Home Affairs and South African consulates in the United States. Despite his success as a character actor – in theater, TV series, and most notably in internationally released independent and studio features that have accumulated nearly $400 million in worldwide box office proceeds, and leading roles in billion dollar grossing video game franchises – the American Movie Award winner and SAG Award nominee keeps South Africa close to his heart and visits and films there whenever he can.
He continued “South Africans are a proud, loving and hospitable people. We love our country, we love our countrymen, we are proud of our nation’s growth, our nation’s contributions to the sciences and the arts. We are grateful for the way that God has blessed our nation with so many natural resources and a wealth of beauty from coastline to mountain top, from desert to the grasslands. We were born and raised in South Africa, we will always be South Africans at heart. And we are always going out of our way to employ, refer and celebrate other South Africans. Their victories are our victories. And this victory is both a relief and a celebration. An answer to prayer. Thank you to the DA for staying the course. Thank you to our Supreme Court.”
Savante has long been a favorite of film critics, including Richard Propes and Jackie. K. Cooper, and has had a successful career for almost three decades.
His recent credits include ‘What Remains’ on Starz with Anne Heche, Kellan Lutz, and Cress Williams, ‘Angry Neighbors’ for Lionsgate with Frank Langella, Bobby Cannavale, Stockard Channing and Ashley Benson, ‘Running For Grace’ on Netflix with Matt Dillon and Jim Caviezel, the indie box office hit ‘Nefarious with Sean Patrick Flanery, and action thriller ‘Infidel’ with Jim Caviezel and Claudia Karvan for MGM.
He is now starring as Moses in the historical epic series ‘The Chosen’ on Netflix and Peacock, which has had over 500 million downloads. He also appeared in many films as a main or supporting actor at this year’s Berlin, Cannes, and Tribeca film markets and festivals. Fresh Kills, directed by Jennifer Esposito and starring Domenick Lombardozzi, Annabella Sciorra, and Esposito. ‘Pursuit of Freedom,’ a human trafficking thriller, won best film at the Anatolia International Film Festival, the Switzerland International picture Festival, and was nominated for a human rights award as best picture by the Political Film Society of America.
He will next be featured in the upcoming Netflix series Captain Fall, as well as a cameo appearance on CBS’s Dick Wolf series FBI. South Africans would also recognise him from the ‘Call Of Duty’ video game franchise, where he voices the leading expert character ‘Ajax’. And from his role as Major Shawn Dixon, in the SAFTA winning ‘A Million Colours’ aka ‘Colors Of Heaven’ which was acquired by Netflix.