By Sridhar Vankayla

1. You seem to have been interested in acting from a very young age. What got you interested in this field at such a young age?
I don’t really know. I think it was because I was a big ham when I was a kid. I got that first laugh doing a play in school and I was hooked. Yeah, looking back I can’t really think of a time when acting and theater and movies weren’t a great obsession of mine.

2.You co-founded an Indian-American theater company called A’Shore Productions when you were in high school. What was that experience like?
Incredible. A’shore happened at a perfect time in my life. It was hard for me to get cast in the kinds of roles I wanted to do around the local community theaters because of my ethnicity, so initially I was just excited to be doing interesting theater. But as we got going, after our first few productions, there was a real sense that we were providing the burgeoning local South Asian community with a voice that we hadn’t had before. So many people from the community got involved. We cast people as young as 4 and as old as 90, and got together and developed content that was specific to our identities and experiences.

3. Looking back at your career, what do you think were the tipping points in your life that have gotten you to where you are today?
“Looking back” makes me laugh because I’m so young and so early into my career. Truthfully, I never considered working as an actor would be a viable career option for me. It was always something that I had done, but I was a pretty serious student, and it never really dawned on me that I could pursue what I loved doing as a career. I was fortunate enough to first meet Kal Penn when I was in the process of applying to colleges. He was the one who helped me realize what I really wanted to do with my life. He steered me in the right direction, I changed my college apps to say “Theater” instead of “Engineering,” and I started really taking this work seriously. Once that happened, I pursued this work pretty relentlessly. Went to UCLA to train as an actor, and it’s just been hard work since I’ve moved to Los Angeles.

4. There seem to be a lot more Indian born actors on TV these days doing roles that fall outside the stereotypical “Indian” role that was predominant a few years ago. Why do you think this is? Do you think the media industry’s views have evolved over the years?
Yes and no. The entertainment industry likes to pigeon-hole and simplify and one-dimensionalize most groups of people—not just South Asians—and it still continues to do so. I think though, that most of the current crop of South Asian actors are pretty vigilant about turning down those mindless roles that primarily play our ethnicity as a punchline. I know I have been very strict about that in my own career.

Also I think most people are simply just tired of seeing that same dumb joke over and over again. Guy behind the counter with a funny accent, cab driver with a funny accent, doctor with a funny accent, computer guy with a funny accent. I think that we are enough of a presence in larger society that people know that there’s more to us than a just that.

5. Will & Grace, CSI:NY, My Name is Earl, Grey’s Anatomy, Barbershop and Vanished. That’s a whole spectrum of shows! What is you mind were the key takeaways for you from these experiences?
The idea that anyone wants to pay me to do this job is still mindblowing to me. I’ve got a great job! I’ve been very lucky! I’ve been able to work with all these pros that I’ve admired all my life, and hopefully a little bit of their talent and energy rubs off on me each time. My first gig on television, I did all my scenes opposite Gary Sinise. That was intimidating and wonderful.

6. “Notes from the Underbelly” is huge hit. How do you like doing comedy?
I’ve tended to always edge slightly towards comedy because it’s so exciting, and it adds a challenging technical layer to the work. If acting in general is simply “behaving truthfully,” comedy requires you to go one step further. Acting in a comedy, you first identify where the humor in the scene lies, and then you go back and find a truthful way to arrive at that humor. Also, I might just be a huge ham.

7. Your first motion picture, "American Blend" was released recently. What was it like working in a Bollywood movie? Was the transition the big screen tough?
I actually filmed that movie before I ever did anything else professionally. I was still in college and had never worked on television or film before. I hadn’t finished my training at UCLA, and really was pretty naïve about the whole thing. I kind of just winged it.

8. The role you play in American Blend seems close to your own background in real life. Do you agree? If so, was that just a coincidence? And how much of your own personal experiences filter into this role?
In American Blend, I played a young man with some palpable identity issues. I was a pretty angry guy. I hope I’m not like him in real life!

9. Anupam Kher is a very prominent actor in Indian cinema. What was it like working with him?
Amazing! The amount of energy he brings to the table is phenomenal. He’s hilarious and kind and was really an amazing guide through my first experience in film. I’m glad I got to play his son.

10. At 23 you've already gained a lot of acting experience. How do you think you've evolved as a person and actor over the years?
What is pretty cool about the craft of acting is that the more you do it, the harder and more complex it seems to get. I remember being so cocky as a teenager; I was so arrogant of my abilities. Since training and starting my career, I’ve begun to realize how challenging it can be and how much hard work and study is involved.

11. What do you see yourself doing next? Any more movies or shows in the pipeline?
I have a horror movie coming out next year called “Albino Farm.” And hopefully a third season of Notes from the Underbelly!

12. Based on your experiences so far, what advice would you give other young upcoming actors?
I think it's great that more and more of us are getting into the arts. It's an uphill battle but one that is—for me—so rewarding. I guess my advice would be to come for the right reasons. Don’t get into this line of work with the hope of becoming a huge star. I never hoped for that, and I don’t hope for it now. Do it because you love the work.

Watch SunKrish on ABC’s “Notes of the Underbelly” every Monday evening @9:30/8:30