It’s the day of his television debut, and Caleb Swanepoel and I sit in a quiet room in the production office at Sasani Studios. Dressed casually in shorts and Crocs, his footwear sporting playful Peppa Pig jibbitz, Swanepoel’s face still bears the remnants of the makeup from a morning of filming.
As he digs into his grilled chicken fillet and vegetables, the distant sound of the Diepe Waters cast and crew chatting drifts in from the rooftop where they’re gathering to celebrate the launch of season three.
Swanepoel, 29, is joining the gripping kykNET telenovela set around the Swarts family, who own the prestige Swart Marlyne swimming club. The series centres on the world of competitive swimming and the intense lives of its swimmers and staff, revealing the fierce rivalries, family secrets and romantic entanglements within the powerful family dynasty that controls the club.
Swanepoel plays Lucas du Preez, a 21-year-old swimmer originally from Durban. A natural talent in the water, Lucas has always been inspired by his father’s love of the ocean, having spent countless afternoons at the beach swimming in the sea after school. But his life takes a tragic turn when he loses his leg in a shark attack just six months before arriving at the Swart Marlyne swimming club in Johannesburg, where he and his mother have moved for his rehabilitation. As Lucas navigates the challenges of his new reality, he embarks on a poignant journey to reconnect with his passion for the water, proving resilience and determination can triumph over adversity.
Swanepoel smiles mischievously and says: “If someone asked me, ‘Do you want to play a character who’s survived a shark attack?’, I wouldn’t be that fazed about it. I’d probably choose a slightly different character arc, because this one’s quite close to home, but I think it’s been handled very well. This role feels quite separate from my life.”
It’s not all that serendipitous that Swanepoel should find himself playing Lucas, a shark attack survivor, in Diepe Waters. Nine years ago, he lived through his own terrifying encounter with a shark — an experience that is mirrored by his on-screen role. He relates the story of the attack with his signature lighthearted humour.
In 2015, while on a family holiday in Buffels Bay, Knysna, Swanepoel was enjoying a day of bodyboarding with his brothers when the ocean turned from playful to perilous in a heartbeat. A great white shark surged from the depths, clamping onto the then 19-year-old’s right leg. The impact was instant. In a blur of adrenaline, fear and raw survival instinct, he felt the immense power of the predator as it dragged him beneath the surface. The force was overwhelming, and the water turned red. He managed to escape the shark’s jaws, but not without paying a terrible price — his right leg was severed below the knee. Amid the chaos, his younger brother pulled him to safety, while the two boys’ mother and sister watched helplessly from the shore, unable to intervene. The predator circled back, scratching Swanepoel’s left leg and biting his brother’s fin.
He admits that in that moment he made peace with dying. He spent 10 days in hospital, and it’s a miracle he’s alive. “I have a curiosity about death, because I thought I was going to die, but I’m still here, so I kind of have to carry on. I would say it was my rebirth, and through that experience I became Caleb. You literally have something ripped away from you, and your whole body goes through this death experience, so you can’t be the same person again after that.”
The harrowing events of June 27 2015 altered the course of Swanepoel’s life forever. At the time, he was a first-year student at the University of Cape Town, pursuing a degree in theatre and performance. The shark attack forced him to confront unimaginable challenges, but it also ignited a fire within him.
There are days when it’s just exhausting, and that’s just dealing with being an amputee. Leaving the story of the shark attack aside, it can be very difficult just navigating life and dealing with the nostalgia you might feel or the things you might miss
In the months that followed, swimming became a crucial part of his physical rehabilitation. The water, once a source of fear, was transformed into a place of healing and strength. With each stroke, he not only rebuilt his physical abilities, but also reclaimed his passion for the sport. He excelled in para-swimming, becoming a national champion and proudly representing South Africa in international competitions.
Swanepoel’s exceptional athletic performance and resilience earned him the prestigious title of UCT Sportsman of the Year, and he also took to the waves in adaptive surfing. Outside the water, he has become a sought-after motivational speaker, sharing his inspiring journey of perseverance and resilience with audiences far and wide.
Despite the success and recognition he’s garnered, this wasn’t the plan for the actor and athlete, and navigating his new life hasn’t been without its challenges. Swanepoel is refreshingly honest about his journey, which includes his achievements and struggles.
He acknowledges there are days when being “Caleb the shark attack survivor” weighs heavily on him. “There are days when it’s just exhausting, and that’s just dealing with being an amputee. Leaving the story of the shark attack aside, it can be very difficult just navigating life and dealing with the nostalgia you might feel or the things you might miss. There are also the challenges you have to work around, your brain constantly having to think about how to adapt to environments and deal with stairs or slopes,” he says.
Over the past nine years, Swanepoel has achieved notable milestones that have kept him going and helped him through the difficult days. From returning to university as a dance and performance student to graduating, he fast learnt how to navigate the new world he found himself in. His performance repertoire has so far largely been made up of Shakespearean theatre productions and television commercials, so making his debut in kykNET’s telenovela is another milestone for him. Like everything else, despite the support of the cast and crew, this new venture hasn’t been without its challenges and awkward moments.
With long hours of filming, being in a TV series is hard work and physically demanding. The silver lining that comes with playing Lucas is that he doesn’t need to hide his disability, which allows him to embrace the role fully. While filming, complete silence is required on set. He explains that, after sitting for a while, he sometimes hears air escaping from the one-way valve in his prosthetic leg. He says adjusting his position helps manage the pressure, but the leg can occasionally make noises. He laughs when he recalls an instance when the valve squeaked every time he stood up, causing some awkwardness on set when his colleagues heard the sound.
If he experiences pain or discomfort in his leg, such as pressure sores or socket issues, he cannot simply take the leg off. While he appreciates the support available on set, he acknowledges the difficulty of managing these challenges while still portraying his character authentically. Sometimes he also uses crutches on set because his character has a disability, but he is focused on delivering the best performance he can despite these obstacles.
The physical challenges he faces are the main reason he auditioned for the role. While playing the part is another achievement to add to his list, it’s more importantly about representation. “I haven’t seen amputees represented on screen consistently, and it’s nice for me to have an opportunity to show a person with a disability in a positive light. It’s very encouraging, and I think it might give people who watch the series a different perspective on what disability looks like,” he says.
We’re about 40 minutes into the conversation when a production assistant interrupts us. The cake has arrived. It’s blue and styled to resemble a swimming pool, complete with red-and-white lane lines stretching across the top.
Unfazed by the lure of cake, wine and bubbly, Swanepoel stays fully engaged in the interview. He highlights the camaraderie that defines the production and praises the incredible crew, emphasising the thrill of collaborating with new actors. For him, it’s not just about the work — it’s also about building lasting friendships. It’s this practice of gratitude that has kept him motivated over the years and is something he incorporates into his daily life. From a savouring a delicious breakfast to enjoying coffee or wine with a friend or loved one, Swanepoel is all about appreciating the simple moments in life.
He then candidly jokes about the one thing he is not grateful for.
You’re always heralded as a survivor, and it’s certainly a fascinating story to be eaten alive and survive an attack by the apex ocean predator. I’m still trying to figure that one out. Statistically, I shouldn’t be here, and it’s a miracle I am
“I speak from a privileged place having a prosthetic and not being in a wheelchair but, even so, there are the challenges I have to deal with. It’s not like I wake up every morning and think, ‘Oh, I’m so grateful to have one leg. Thank you, God.’ No, it’s not like that. That’s why things like exercise and human connection are very important for me,” he says.
Family and a close-knit group of friends have been vital to Swanepoel’s healing journey, along with therapy. He fondly refers to his mother, Tracy, as his heroine, but catches himself before he delves too deeply into this subject, acknowledging he could talk about her for hours, as he could about his father, Luc. Growing up in Prince Albert — a small, dusty town in the Western Cape known for its Cape Dutch architecture and vibrant arts scene — Swanepoel and his siblings were homeschooled by their mother. This upbringing instilled in him a profound appreciation for family and community, both of which have been cornerstones in his recovery and personal growth.
But Swanepoel says he doesn’t have it all figured out. On difficult days, he takes solace in a phone call with his mom or a friend. “They all went through trauma because they all experienced a shark attack. It didn’t just happen to me, and I have to acknowledge that. They are part of my journey.”
A big part of his experience has also been figuring out how his body moves, what’s happening in his mind, and who he is. What he doesn’t do is spend time thinking about where or who he’d be if he hadn’t had his encounter with a shark almost a decade ago. “It’s happened to me, and I have to figure out what it’s doing to my body and my brain, and how I can move with it, not past it. My disability is not going to go away — it is part of me now. The scar is there, and the leg is gone.”
Before we join the rest of the Diepe Waters cast and crew in raising a glass to the latest season premiere, Swanepoel and I take a moment to acknowledge this latest milestone in his remarkable journey. He admits that when reflecting on his past he struggles take pride in his achievements. However, he acknowledges that being part of a TV production that represents disability is a notable milestone for him, no matter who tunes in to watch the show.
His motto in life is always to remain curious, and he sees his arts degree as having been a crucial stepping stone that fostered his investigative spirit. He jokes again, saying, “I’ve always been curious, and now I look curious.”
Swanepoel is used to being stared at and regularly quizzed about his leg. He believes if people’s experiences and traumas were visible on their bodies, it might change the way they perceived someone with a disability. “You’re always heralded as a survivor, and it’s certainly a fascinating story to be eaten alive and survive an attack by the apex ocean predator. I’m still trying to figure that one out. Statistically, I shouldn’t be here, and it’s a miracle I am. So when you put all that in one cocktail and try to drink it, it’s confusing,” Swanepoel says.
His journey defies statistics and expectations, and he’s determined to chart a path that goes beyond survival — one that challenges perceptions, embraces resilience, and inspires others to face their own battles with courage.
While Caleb Swanepoel can’t shy away from being known as the shark-attack survivor, his role in Diepe Waters shows there’s more to him than that — he’s both a thespian and an athlete, inspiring others by living his life beyond the label.
Diepe Waters airs Mondays to Thursdays at 6.30pm on kykNET (DStv channel 144) and is also available on Showmax, DStv Stream and Catch Up.
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