Ravi Kapoor trained at the East 15 School of Acting in London. He has worked professionally as an actor since 1990 in both England and America.
His film and television work in England includes the feature film Wild West (the story of a Pakistani country-western band trying to get to Nashville), and various BBC dramas including Blood and Peaches, Peacock Spring, Flight, and In a Land of Plenty. He has worked with and at various theatre companies in England including the National Studio Theatre, Tara Arts, Tamasha, Theatre Royal, and the Gateway.
His work in America includes regular roles on Gideon’s Crossing (ABC) and Crossing Jordan (NBC). Stage work includes Rice Boy (a Taper Too production) and work with the educational theatre company Will & Co.
Ravi wrote and directed the play Oh Sweet Sita produced by Tara Arts and performed in both London and Toronto. He also directed the play Barriers presented in San Francisco and LA.
Ravi was also part of the steering committee of the LA South-Asian arts festival ArtWallah during its first three years. He was involved in the film and theatre committees and with the evening show production. He also directed, wrote for and acted in a multi-disciplinary piece House commissioned for the festival. More is at https://imdb.com/name/nm0438500.
I guess I knew when I was probably around thirteen, fourteen years old. I just started doing plays at school. We didn’t have a Drama department as such—actually, we did for a year and then it disappeared and we just did a Christmas show. And then I started going to Saturday drama classes after that, back in Liverpool. For me, it felt like it was the only place I fit in. It was the only thing that I felt that I was halfway decent at as well. I was never really very good at sports. I was an average kind of student. It seemed to be the only place I got a bit of kudos and people seemed to like me. I got a kick out of it. I was very introverted as a kid, very shy. It was an incredible way for me to express some of the feelings that were trapped inside of me. At around fifteen or sixteen, I knew I wanted to give it a shot as a career.
Do you turn your accent on and off for acting?
The thing for me has always been, since Drama school, recognizing that I’m going to work more if I can play a great variety of characters—whether that’s characters from different places, characters with different rhythms, or sensibilities. That was the thing for me, to try and expand my range as much as I could. I think, in terms of coming out here, I did make an effort to kind of find a very neutral kind of accent in some ways. In a sense, what I have right now is an accent which is very mid-Atlantic. I feel like I’ve found an organic accent which allows me to jump into places without such a leap. It’s not so stark for me and it’s not so stark for casting directors or directors when they hear that shift. When I audition, I’ll try to go in with the accent I’m going to audition in, usually. Otherwise they start listening for it.
What made you choose Los Angeles?
Personal reasons. My wife was born in England but raised in California. She went back to England for Drama school post-grad and she lived there for six years after that. She didn’t want to be there anymore so it was my kind of turn to be somewhere I wasn’t sure I wanted to be. I was doing well in England. Things were going good. It was a move to follow my heart. It wasn’t about acting, it was about my love. I actually came out here thinking that I wouldn’t act. I was thinking I would write. I had just written a play back in England that went really well in London and we took it to Toronto, where it also went really well. So, I suddenly thought I was a writer after one play. It’s now taken me six years to write another play. So, I’m an actor who writes occasionally.
I came out here and I was looking at the South-Asian parts. The kinds of jobs South-Asian actors were having to do out here seemed so regressive in terms of where I was coming from in England. It’s a bigger community there, they’ve been there longer, there’s a stronger history, and they’ve taken many years to get to that point in England. I’d seen part of that happen. And I could see that development was still in the early stages here. I didn’t want to have to play those roles. I didn’t want to have to go backwards. So, I thought I would write.
I started working with a children’s educational theatre company here in LA called ArtWallah in which we do forty-five-minute versions of Shakespeare plays and take them around schools. I had done some educational theatre back in London as well and loved it. It’s always been something I enjoy doing. That got me back into recognizing that I was an actor and I love to do this. This is what I feel strongest at. Then I did one audition, that was Gideon’s Crossing. I had been hip-pocketed by an agent and that was the first audition they put me up for. That agent was representing a friend of mine I knew from back in England. I said, “I know you don’t know me and you may not feel comfortable in terms of really representing me right now and pushing me, but if you ever see a role which is specifically South-Asian—I recognize what my selling quality is—all I ask is that you put me out for that. You don’t have to try and push me for roles which are a little bit more of a stretch.” I ended up with that agent for about four years.
What is it like being married to a fellow actor?
There’s a real strong recognition of what we go through. There’s a deep understanding in terms of what we’re trying to achieve, and not just on the career level but in terms of the artistic level, in terms of what satisfies us and makes us happy. We recognize that often that’s not a material thing. It’s not often a career thing. It’s just about needing to do it. There’s a real recognition of that need. It’s also interesting when one career is going better than the other. There’s a great sense of joy for each other, but it’s also a reminder of what you want. It’s in your face a little bit more, suddenly: “I love you, but what about me?” And since we’ve had a son this year—and with us both being actors—there’s a big issue in terms of our sense of security and the future. We’re thinking about a house, but what if we’re not working in ten years? That’s the hard part: recognizing that there’s no constant breadwinner within the household. I think having a child, you just know you’re going to pay whatever you need to pay. You’re going to do whatever you need to do to give that kid all that you can.
Do you ever feel like giving up?
Yeah. I think it’s a constant thought. I often think, “What else would I do?” I’ve been working recently, so there’s a little bit more stability. I wonder, long-term, should I do something at school so that I can teach way farther down the line? In the lean times, I have thought about giving up. I guess, when I came here, I was saying I wasn’t going to do it for a while. I think more and more I recognize that, inherently, it is what I do. I am an actor. I don’t know if I would ever really give up. I think I would find a way to do it.
Is your acting technique specific to your British training?
What I’ve found, specifically within the television industry, is that it’s gone beyond the whole “working inside-out vs. outside-in” thing. I’m finding that doesn’t explain the difference in the acting styles in some ways for me, between the American and the British. I feel there’s a minimalism a lot more within the American television acting style. Minimalism doesn’t necessarily mean that the actors are working from the inside-out. It just means the physical technique is so much smaller in some ways. I think that there’s a generic acting style that seems to exist within American television that a lot of American actors adhere to that is about being minimalistic. What I tend to find with British actors is that often they are not as constrained by the television box. They’re bigger in many ways. Often, a lot of them seem to be more expressive.
My thing has always been about: “Fuck the American acting style and go for it and don’t be afraid to be theatrical.” I find it more interesting when I watch it. I think it’s given me a particular stamp. It’s a certain form of expressivity which is unique to me. I see that as a difference. I always regarded myself as very “Method” back in England. It was all about living as the character, dreaming as the character, having every experience as the character. Probably getting married and having a kid, I realized that I couldn’t work like that anymore. It required such a sacrifice to work like that where I wasn’t able to give to other parts of my life. I needed to find a balance. I began to rely more on technique and I learned a way to not be so precious.
How do you prepare for a role?
It’s so interesting now, doing a long-term television show, because I’m no longer preparing for a role. I’m in a role right now. Every role demands something different, every part demands a different approach to it. If the role is very emotional, I find I need to develop those character memories and build a bank of experience for the character. If the part is a little more comedic or expressive, I find I need to think more about the rhythm of the character or the piece. It becomes a little more about technique, in some ways. For me, it totally depends on the style of the piece.
What is your favorite thing about being an actor?
When you feel like you do something really well and you get that buzz from doing a great scene or a great theatre piece or just feeling in control of it, feeling like you made something sing. I think you get that less so in television—I think it depends on what you’re working on and who you’re working with as well. It tends to happen more on stage. But, with Crossing Jordan, we all go for it. We try to avoid this minimalism. We really try and play off each other. There are moments when the writing really helps us. I still get that sense of synergy. One of the other things I love about acting is the people. I meet some great, great people. I think the business is just filled with people who are self-realized in many ways, who are sweet, who are intelligent, and just a pleasure to be around and hang out with. All my friends are actors or writers, pretty much.
What do you do when nothing is happening in your career?
I try to write. That’s a big thing. That’s the part about being a South-Asian actor in particular. I do believe that we need to show the industry how they can use us instead of just always waiting for them to do it for us. We need to lead the way on that. I’m by no means prolific in any way, but when I try to write, it’s a mix of something I wish I had a chance to do when I was younger and something I’d like to do now. That’s one thing I do in the down times. Last summer, I directed a play. That was something that kept me busy during the hiatus. I like directing. It’s such a different sense of satisfaction. I think the actual process of directing isn’t quite as enjoyable as the actual process of acting. There’s a massive sense of self-achievement when the process is over and you look at what you’ve achieved. Somebody recently said to me, “It’s like running a marathon. You may not enjoy the actual running because it fuckin’ hurts, but afterwards, you go, ‘Ah! I just ran 26.2 miles!'” I think that’s the feeling I get from writing and directing. It’s something that I’ve done from scratch and put on.
How do you handle rejection?
I try not to take it personally. I recognize that it so much is about type. I work hard at recognizing that it’s not about me. It’s about how the director and the casting director see the character and fulfilling that. Sometimes they’re surprised by new things, but often they want to fulfill their vision of something. It’s not about me being good or bad. I try to deal with rejection by trying to think in those lines. I say I’m going to give up as well. I cry. It’s such a mix of positive thoughts and negative thoughts. And sometimes I say to myself, “I’m a shitty actor and that’s why they didn’t like me.”
Who are your favorite actors?
Gary Oldman because his character range is just incredible. You never get the sense that you’re watching an actor putting on a character. You really get the sense of a completely different, fully-inhabited, twenty-dimensional character. It’s so different and I’m so astounded by that. I just think he’s brilliant. Al Pacino, though it’s such a cliché to say that. Sir Laurence Olivier for his ability to create characters and play such a range of characters. Robert De Niro, I love for the incredible character shifts he makes. Daniel Day-Lewis is a lead character actor. He does play characters. He takes time out so that he can focus on the character and do it to the best of his ability and really explore the world of each character. It seems like he uses each job as a way to grow as a human being, to find out about that world. Another actor is Roshan Seth. He was in Gandhi playing Nehru. He was in Mississippi Masala playing the father. He was in Metropolitan. He’s a South-Asian actor who just… I totally respect. I think he’s brilliant.
What issues do you face as a South-Asian actor?
I didn’t know I was a South-Asian actor until I left Drama school, until the business told me I was a South-Asian actor. Recognize that it’s going to happen; the industry will define you. I think you have to start with the drive where you think you’re going to change everything—and some people are going to bust through it—but you have to recognize that the color of your skin is going to be your selling point. I don’t want to be limited by my race in terms of the characters I play. At the same time, it’s sad when you see actors blacking or browning up. It doesn’t happen often, but it still does.
What advice would you give to an actor starting out?
I wouldn’t want to advise anybody on anything. I think it’s bullshit. What’s going to happen is going to happen. One person’s advice is another person’s poison. The thing that I’ve always tried to adhere to is, as much as possible, to focus on the work and not on the career. The career has so much to do with luck. The only thing you have control over is the work. Focus on the work, wherever you can get it. Taking gigs that don’t seem to advance your career that are about doing the fifty-seat theatre or whatever is important, because you know the work will satisfy you. In the end, it only makes you a more interesting actor and a stronger actor and a better actor. It makes you more sellable in the end. Focus on the art as much as you can. Get the art where you can get it.
This interview was conducted on December 13, 2004, and it originally appeared in Acting Qs: Conversations with Working Actors by Bonnie Gillespie and Blake Robbins, available at Amazon.