Jean-Michel was born in Lubumbashi, Congo and he was raised in Jacaranda city, Pretoria. He feels fortunate to have attended schools in both Congo and South Africa with his foundation phase being in Congo. From Grade 5 onwards he attended Glenstantia Primary School, then went on to Hoërskool Lydenburg and The Glen High School, where he matriculated in 2011. Thereafter he attended Rosebank college and SAB&T Academy.

Jean-Michel is most passionate about 3 things: Soccer, God, and Family. He also loves music and enjoys being in front of the camera. He’s been modeling for the past 2 years and has shot a number of TV commercials. “Funny enough, being an actor was never my end goal, but I always wondered how I’d do as an actor. The opportunity to dabble in the arts really happened to find me – a friend had posted something about an agent looking for Congolese actors; I submitted my tape and it was a match made in heaven. I couldn’t believe that it was for Skeem Saam”, he says.

Jean-Michel is a fresh new face to the Skeem Saam family. He plays the character of “Luc” a good-looking, charming young man, who when we first meet him, is admitted into Turf Hospital for having bad headaches. But those headaches quickly disappear after he meets and falls head over heels in love with his doctor, Lizzy Thobakgale. But to Lizzy’s dismay, she soon finds out that Luc is a scammer and has been scamming women out of their money all over the country.

When asked if him and ‘Luc’ have anything in common, this is what he had to say: “In terms of banter, we’re pretty similar. Flirting comes naturally to me as I’m smooth with my words, so ‘Luc’ and I are similar in that regard. But as for scamming, I keep my hands squeaky clean”, he laughs.

Tune in to #SkeemSaam every weeknight on SABC1 at 18.30 pm and Omnibus every Sunday mornings from 9.30.