Issued by: Quirky House

“I often get asked for advice on how to become a Presenter,” says Colin Moss. “There is no such thing as a training course or a career as a Presenter. It’s something you fall into, usually as a means to an end, when you have to pay the bills and there aren’t enough acting jobs. We have such a small film and television industry in South Africa. You have to be multi-talented and multi tasking to make it. I was fortunate in that I happened to be good at presenting.”

“More than anything, this is a timing issue,” he said. “I have film projects in the pipeline that I would have to turn down if I accepted Idols.”

The new Idols series is scheduled for production from December to the end of April. This impacts on the international commercial and film season in Cape Town, which is rocking.

“I have given my decision a lot of thought. I loved being involved in Idols and enjoyed the series immensely, especially working with the production company, Fremantle. They have become like family and that makes it very difficult for me to sever ties and move on.

"Although my first love is acting, Idols has been amazing for my profile and my career and it's a very sad day for me. But I think this is the right decision for my career at the moment. I also think that it would be good for the show to get some fresh blood. Presenting a show like Idols will offer somebody new a great opportunity.”

Despite leaving Idols, Colin believes that the show offers amazing opportunities.

“Idols has unearthed some phenomenal talent. Many of them have continued to achieve in very successful careers. They would have had to slog away in the industry for years before reaching the same level of exposure and familiarity with the public... if ever,” he said. “I wish the show, the new Presenter and the future winners the very best.”

Since the last Idols season, Colin has made headway in his career as a film actor with roles in four international movies. He plays an Apartheid era cop in Shamim Sarif's The World Unseen, which will be released in the United States on 17th November and in South Africa in February next year. He stars opposite Billy Zane in the movie Surviving Evil, releasing in the UK and South Africa in December. He has recently completed filming as a New Zealand embassy official in the Italian blockbuster Ex and a small role in a Bollywood film.

Colin majored in Drama and Music at the University of Natal. He first shot to fame in South Africa as Stuart Buller in the daily soap Isidingo. He moved to Cape Town and the international commercial film industry two years later, after asking the producers to kill his character.

“You can't afford to become typecast as an actor,” says Moss. “Two years as a central figure on a soap is good. After that, you risk being typecast and stagnating. It was also a very difficult decision to leave the show because in this industry it's really nice to know that you have a salary at the end of the month. When I moved to Cape Town, it was like jumping off a cliff. Other than my best friend Cokey Falkow, I had no friends or connections here. But it was the right thing to do at the time.”

Stand-up comedy was his mainline for a few months. Comedy continues to be a passion and successful sideline, but he has been successful in the international commercial film industry. It's not uncommon in the film and entertainment industry for an actor to turn to presenting and e.tv's City Life was Colin's first presenting role. This was followed soon after by MNet's Fear Factor and then Idols.

Visit our PRESS OFFICE: At Quirky House, we recognise that a corporate MC must be more than a pretty picture. For that special function or event, the corporate MC is the company, projecting the culture, ethic and personality of the business, its people and their products. You can't afford to botch it.- more....

[24 Nov 2008 12:02]

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