The 14 most talked-about international actors of South Asian origin we saw on our screens in 2020

This year, two South Asian actors starred in television shows that were trending on Twitter within hours of their release: Tamil-Canadian newcomer Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, who plays the lead in Mindy Kaling’s new show Never Have I Ever, and London-born actor Rahul Kohli, whom the internet collectively salivated over when his horror series The Haunting of Bly Manor dropped on Netflix.

And they're not the only ones whose stars are rising. Read on for 14 most talked-about actors from Australia, Canada, the UK and the US who are playing against type, taking on challenging material, and having a damn good time.

Maitreyi Ramakrishnan

Tamil-Canadian actor Maitreyi Ramakrishnan was selected from among 15,000 aspiring actors to play the lead role in Mindy Kaling's teen series Never Have I Ever, and the 18-year-old has received rave reviews for her portrayal of an Indian-American teenager trying to navigate first love, grief and family expectations. The Netflix series premiered in April 2020 and has already been greenlit for season two. Speaking about Kaling in an interview with Vogue Australia, Ramakrishnan says, “She really is [the] best mentor I could ask for. And I’m super, super lucky and fortunate that this is my way of getting into Hollywood.”

Rahul Kohli

After stints on shows like British soap EastEnders and CW supernatural drama iZombie, this year British-Indian actor Rahul Kohli starred in one of the most buzzed-about shows of 2020, The Haunting of Bly Manor. He’s reached this turning point in his career after years of turning down the kinds of stereotypical roles most brown-skinned actors are well acquainted with. “I reject a lot of scripts,” he says in a recent Vogue India interview. “It’s easy for me to shoot down working in a 7-Eleven or being the Indian guy getting an arranged marriage even though he doesn’t want one. I want to create a safer space that’s more inclusive and progressive.” 

Geraldine Viswanathan

Born in Australia, the half Indian-half Swiss Geraldine Viswanathan’s breakout role as an actor came in the 2018 film Blockers, in which she plays one of three teens whose parents are determined to stop them from losing their virginity on the night of their high school prom. Riding the success of that first film, she went on to work on two critically acclaimed indies—Hala, a coming-of-age story about a Pakistani-American teen, and Bad Education, in which she plays an intrepid high school reporter who cracks a corruption case involving her school’s administrators. Just two years into her career, the 25-year-old actor already has over 145K followers on Instagram, and has shared screen space with the likes of Hugh Jackman, Allison Janney and Daniel Radcliffe.

Himesh Patel

Another actor with British soap EastEnders on his resume is Himesh Patel, who made his film debut in 2019 with Danny Boyle's musical Yesterday. The film places his character, an aspiring musician, at the centre of a world where no one knows The Beatles’ music except him. He becomes a star by passing off the Fab Four’s greatest hits as his own, and realises fame brings with it pressures and obligations he had never considered. “Where do I fit in?” he says of his character’s journey, in an interview with American Vogue. “That’s something I think about as an actor, especially as an actor from a minority community.” Patel has since appeared in The Aeronauts alongside Eddie Redmayne and Felicity Jones, and in one of the most highly anticipated films of 2020, Christopher Nolan’s Tenet.

Sunita Mani

Born to Indian parents in Tennessee, USA, Sunita Mani got her start in improv and went on to do bit parts in successful comedies like Broad City and The Good Place. But it was Netflix series GLOW, about a troupe of female wrestlers in 1980s Los Angeles, that served as her breakout project. (The delightfully refreshing show ran for three seasons but was cancelled this year due to coronavirus-related budget constraints.) 2020 was still a big year for her though: the 33-year-old actor had three film projects release this year, including Evil Eye, a horror film about reincarnation co-starring veteran actor Sarita Chaudhury.

Ritu Arya

British actor and drummer Ritu Arya got her start on a soap opera called Doctors in 2013, and has since appeared in film and TV projects such as Sherlock, Last Christmas and Doctor Who. Her breakout role, however, came this year with Netflix series The Umbrella Academy, where she plays one of an elite team of superhumans. Next up: Red Notice, a film starring Dwayne Johnson, Gal Gadot and Ryan Reynolds.

Manish Dayal

Born to a Gujarati family in South Carolina, Manish Dayal got his big break in 2014 when he starred in The Hundred-Foot Journey alongside Helen Mirren, Om Puri and Charlotte Le Bon, and has since appeared on acclaimed television shows like Halt and Catch Fire and The Resident. The latter, a medical drama co-starring Matt Czuchry and Emily VanCamp, has just been renewed for a fourth season. Of the first time he ever appeared on camera, Dayal says in an Interview story, “It was weird, but there was something so cool about it—it was kind of like free falling and not knowing what you’re doing, but at the same time, I understood it.”

Sujata Day

Over the course of her career, which began in the early 2000s, Pennsylvania-born actor Sujata Day has had small roles on television shows like Brooklyn Nine-Nine and Insecure. This year, she wrote herself a starring role in a feature film titled Definition, Please. In it, she plays Monica Chowdry, a precocious spelling bee champ who goes on to live a rather mundane life. Challenging the myth of the “model minority,” Day—who also directed the film—told Teen Vogue that the film is a “love letter to South Asian American families who stay true to their Indian culture but have also embraced the potential of the ‘American Dream’.” 

Ritesh Rajan

This New York-born actor got his start in 2010 with guest roles on TV dramas like Law & Order and A Gifted Man. In 2015, he landed a recurring role as Linus Ahluwalia on sci-fi series Stitchers, and a year later voiced the character of Mowgli’s father in live-action Disney film The Jungle Book. Last year, he appeared on Natasha Lyonne’s acclaimed Netflix series Russian Doll (and became briefly known on Twitter as “hot bodega guy”), and his latest project is Sujata Day’s Definition, Please. In the film, Rajan plays a young man estranged from his family, whose bipolar disorder is going untreated in large part due to the stigma mental health issues still carry amongst the Indian diaspora.

Taj Atwal

British audiences will recognise Taj Atwal from shows like Stella, which was awarded Best Television Drama by the Welsh branch of the BAFTAs in 2013; BBC drama In the Club, about six couples about to be parents; and police procedural Line of Duty. Her latest project is a quirky comedy-horror web series about paranormal investigations titled Truth Seekers. Starring and created by Nick Frost and Simon Pegg, the show is now available to stream on Amazon Prime Video.

Tiya Sircar

In 2016, after nearly 10 years in the industry, Texas-born Tiya Sircar landed the sort of role that dreams are made of: starring alongside comedy legends like Ted Danson, Kristen Bell and Marc Evan Jackson on The Good Place. The show—which somehow makes philosophical, existential and ethical dilemmas laugh-out-loud funny—went on to become a critical and commercial success over the course of its four seasons on air. Sircar’s body of work also includes stints on Master of None, The Vampire Diaries and The Mindy Project, and she currently voices Sabine Wren on Star Wars Rebels.

Ashley Ganger

It’s not often that an aspiring actor's very first project turns out to be a hit but that's exactly what happened with Ashley Ganger. The 23-year-old Indian-Canadian actress landed her first-ever role on Grand Army, a Netflix drama that’s garnered critical acclaim since its premiere this past October. The show follows a group of teens at a public high school in Brooklyn, and Ganger (whose parents are originally from Punjab) plays Meera Pakam, a feminist artist/playwright whose work tackles issues like sexuality and consent. A second season is yet to be confirmed, but based on early buzz, Ganger is one to watch.

Annet Mahendru

Fans of the Emmy-winning spy drama The Americans will remember Annet Mahendru as KGB officer Nina Krilova. Born in Kabul to an Indian father and Russian mother, Mahendru has also appeared in shows like Entourage, Grey’s Anatomy and The Romanoffs. Catch her now on the post-apocalyptic drama The Walking Dead: World Beyond, which premiered on Amazon Prime Video in October.

Avan Jogia

With over 3 million followers on Instagram and roles in films like Zombieland: Double Tap alongside Emma Stone, Woody Harrelson and Jesse Eisenberg, and Shaft, co-starring Samuel L Jackson and Regina Hall, Avan Jogia is no newbie. Born in Vancouver, the half-Indian actor has been acting since 2006 and published a book last year, titled Mixed Feelings, about his multiracial identity. His latest project is Resident Evil, a reboot of the cult horror film series, which is set to be released in 2021.

Also read:

Meet Anya Chalotra, the Indian origin lead actor in Netflix's The Witcher

Meet the Indian-origin women entrepreneurs laying the foundation of the brands of the future