Grammar boy stars in Underbelly

FORMER Ipswich Grammar School student Pach Mzembe has had some awkward conversations since the latest season of Underbelly started.

Pacharo Mzembe in Underbelly Razor. Picture: David Dare Parker

FORMER Ipswich Grammar School student Pach Mzembe has had some awkward conversations since the latest season of Underbelly started.

Pach has been starring in the show as the controversially named thug 'Nigger', a black member of Tilly Devine's gang with distinctive blonde hair.

"People have come up to me on the street and said 'Excuse me, I don't mean to be rude but are you, I'm really sorry, Nigger from Underbelly?'," Pach said.

"It's fine though, as long as it's used in context, I mean that's the name of the character I'm playing."

Pach, who was born and spent his early years in Zimbabwe and Malawi, moved to Australia as a political refugee when he was a child.

Since graduating from Ipswich Grammar he has studied at the National Institute of Dramatic Art (NIDA) and performed in a number of television and theatre projects across Australia.

Before landing his role in Underbelly, he was even looking to work in the United States.

"I was in LA when I got the gig," he said.

"I was working on a pilot series, but because of visa issues it didn't work out.

"I wasn't feeling too good missing out on the pilot, so getting the call telling me I was going to be in Underbelly was great."

Despite his national recognition, Pach's next gig isn't going to be another TV show or a movie, but rather a run across Australia.

From February next year Pach will run from Perth to Sydney to help raise awareness and money for a secondary school in Malawi.

The run is 3754km and will take him about 63 days. But his plan doesn't stop there.

Before starting the run he will visit 50 schools in Queensland and 50 in New South Wales for the charities Room to Read and Youth of the Streets, to encourage senior students to stay in school.

Pach will finish his run on the steps of the Sydney Opera House, where he will deliver a speech for 100 students who will run the final leg with him. "I've had to turn down (acting jobs) because of the run, but I'm really committed to making a stand for education," he said.

"Without it I wouldn't have had the opportunities I've had."

Schools that would like to be involved in Pach's run can email [e-mail].

For further information visit www.runofawareness.com.au/.

Originally published as Grammar boy stars in Underbelly