King of the castle
Actor Sunkrish Bala on straddling the world of American TV, being a Tamilian in Hollywood, and his take on Indian cinema
By : gautam sunder
Update: 2015-11-23 23:17 GMT
Everyone might be raving over Aziz Ansari’s groundbreaking new show Master of None, where he plays a character of Indian origin and sends ethnicity barriers in Hollywood through the roof — but did you know there’s another Indian actor, a Tamilian in fact, making waves on primetime American television?
That’s Sunkrish Bala, who has endeared to global audiences with his recent showing on the crime-drama show Castle, which stars the hit lead pair of Nathan Fillion and Stana Katic. His character Vikram Singh, appearing in the ongoing season, has become more exciting with every passing episode — and Sunkrish, who’s been acting in Hollywood for almost a decade now, is getting his due.
“My family is Tamilian, and I’ve got all sorts of family connections in Chennai. My grandmother still lives there. I have aunts, uncles, nieces, and nephews who live in Tamil Nadu. My other grandmother lives near Tenkasi. We’re all over the place — which is great for me, because I get to see (and taste) everything when I come visit, which is often!” he begins, in an exclusive with DC.
After moving to the U.S at an early age, how did he decide to enter films? “I had always been a part of theatre growing up, but it was never a viable career option for me initially. I just didn’t see guys that looked like me on TV and in the movies! But soon I realised that this was the only thing I was truly passionate about,” Sunkrish smiles and adds, “The first role that people tend to remember me for was as a guest on Grey’s Anatomy back in 2005. I played one of the main character’s love interests who shows up at the hospital with an embarrassing medical problem of a sexual nature.
I watched that episode alone with my parents when it aired on TV. You can imagine the awkwardness.” More offers came calling, and Sunkrish reveals he was happy to revel in them — “The cool thing about my Walking Dead character was he was written as a Tamilian, Dr Caleb Subramanian! That doesn’t happen often. What’s also unique is that the show didn’t feel the need to ‘explain’ my ethnicity. Too often, Hollywood still feels like it has to handhold the audience with regard to its non-white characters. If there’s an Indian guy on the show, he’s usually Indian for a reason. The Walking Dead didn’t do that. I was just one of the good guys, and that was refreshing. The same holds true of Shameless and Modern Family, actually.”
But it’s his role of Vikram in Castle that’s truly got him noticed today. The plot on the show keeps getting murkier, but for now we know Vikram (who’s a computer genius and hacker extraordinaire) is assisting Becket in her secret investigation of Senator Bracken’s mysterious partner.
“I’m having an absolute blast on Castle. I’ve generally been a comedy guy, so I’ve never really gotten to be a part of something this action-oriented before— shooting guns and running from explosions and all that. That’s been really cool to learn. With regard to my character’s true motives, my lips are sealed. You guys are going to have to keep watching! The cast has been so welcoming, and I truly love working with everyone, especially Stana,” Sunkrish grins.
On the movie front, the actor looks back at his very first movie American Blend, wherein he played Anupam Kher’s son — “It was more than ten years ago, but I was so fortunate to be able to learn from an absolute legend. We still keep in touch, and he’s definitely an inspiration— not only in terms of his work on screen but off as well. My most recent flick is something I’m very proud of, called Chee & T. It’s about the last two Indian guys in Silicon Valley that have nothing to do with technology. It’s basically a gangster/buddy/road comedy set amongst brown people in California.”
Does he keep track of Indian films at all? “Absolutely! I think Indian cinema is going through an interesting renaissance right now. Auteur directors and smaller films are actually being watched by audiences. It’s a really cool time. With regard to stars— Madhavan works out at my gym when he comes to LA, and I got to hang out with him a couple times and learn about what the Tamil film industry is like. Great dude. Yeah, I’d absolutely love the opportunity to work on a Tamil film. Who do I talk to about that? Sign me up!” Sunkrish smiles and signs off.
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