Adhir Kalyan

Adhir Kalyan: (on his clearest memory from childhood) I was telling my parents a story after dinner. I was 6, dressed in my pyjamas, standing in front of them in our living room. I was describing the emotional state of a character, and I said 'he was so fucking angry.' I froze immediately. (His mother asked him to repeat it and he wouldn't.) I dropped my head, turned around, and went to my room. It was fairly clear story-time was over. That's what Jeffrey said anyway. He was my imaginary friend.

Adhir Kaylan: (in March 2009) Thus far in the States, I have been very fortunate to play a variety of characters, the minority of whom have been Indian characters, the majority, characters who so happen to be Indian.

Adhir Kalyan: (joking about his character in the movie Paul Blart: Mall Cop) The only similarity that I do share with Pahud is that he enjoys being in a semi or completely nude state is his apartment and that's the way I choose to spend my time in privacy as well. But not out on the red carpet? No, I mean. And that is not because I feel a need to put on clothing onto my body. It's just that I know that other people aren't quite as comfortable with my nudity as I am.

Adhir Kalyan: (on the challenge of playing Raja, a Muslim character on Aliens in America) I understood that I had a responsibility not just to the character, but to the Muslim community. It was important to understand the core things in his life and to portray him as a complete person, not a stereotype and also not as an absolute saint.

Adhir Kalyan: (on being perceived as a Pakistani Muslim by casting directors) Once they realize that I'm actually a South African with a predominantly British accent, I think it makes them more intrigued to see what else I can do.

Adhir Kalyan: I know there are certain things that I find difficult to do. For example, yawning - I can't get yawning right. Accents are something that I grew up doing a lot of variations of, because South Africa has so many. Growing up watching American and British films, it's always been of great interest to me. The accent was something I was really looking forward to doing and they did provide a vocal coach and we found a happy medium with something that sounds Pakistani.

Adhir Kalyan: I wish I could rattle off stories of cultural shock, but I've been very fortunate to move around a lot in the past year. As a result, I've been in contact with different cultures. Los Angeles is really a melting pot of many of those cultures, so it was a pretty easy transition. There are some things that are a little strange, like the portions of food are ridiculous. It's not necessary for people to eat that much, and it's not even good food. It's unhealthy. I don't understand.

Adhir Kalyan: Growing up in this post-apartheid era, the first generation of teens in South Africa living in this new democracy, I often found myself feeling different. I was often the only person of color in an otherwise all-white school. And within the Indian community, because of my training with an English acting teacher, my accent was very different. And also by the time I auditioned for Aliens in America, the July 7 bombing had happened in London. So I'd had those experiences where I would get onto the Tube, and people would get off. So there was a lot about Raja that I understood.

Adhir Kalyan: If I hadn't left South Africa, I felt I was at risk of being pigeonholed. I looked around and saw actors who, 10 to 15 years into their careers, were still playing stereotypical Afrikaans characters, stereotyped Indian characters. That was not something that I wanted for myself.

Adhir Kalyan: (about Raja, his character on Aliens in America) I think he is an example of a portrayal of a positive Muslim character on the show. But, in addition to all of this, he's also a sixteen year old boy. You know, full of mistakes yet to be made and experiences that he has not yet experienced, but he is certainly a wonderful character to play. (...) Raja's a very sincere, humble human being. He's a selfless young man with a very generous spirit.