Adhir Kalyan
| Date of Birth | : | 04 Aug, 1983 |
| Place of Birth | : | Durban, South Africa |
| Profession | : | Actor |
| Nationality | : | South African |
| Social Profiles | : |
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Adhir Kalyan is a South African actor noted for his role as Timmy in the CBS sitcom Rules of Engagement and as Awalmir Karimi/'Al' in United States of Al.
Early life
Kalyan was born in Durban to an Indian South African family. His mother, Santosh Vinita "Sandy" Kalyan, was a member of Parliament in the South African National Assembly, where she represented the Democratic Alliance.
Kalyan completed his schooling at Marklands in Durban. Prior to moving abroad, he performed in a number of productions in South Africa, including theatrical adaptations of Charles Dickens' Oliver Twist and A Christmas Carol, an adaptation of Salman Rushdie's The Ground Beneath Her Feet, and the classical Shakespearean play Macbeth.
Adhir Kalyan is a South African actor noted for his role as Timmy in the CBS sitcom Rules of Engagement and as Awalmir Karimi/'Al' in United States of Al.
Career
In 2005, Kalyan moved to London to pursue his acting career where he gained roles in the BBC series Holby City (series 8) as Arjmand Younis, in Spooks (series 5), and on the Irish network RTÉ One in Fair City as Ramal Kirmani. Kalyan also appeared in a number of independent films.
Kalyan starred in the short-lived American CW Television Network sitcom Aliens in America, as a foreign exchange student from Pakistan living with a Wisconsin family. He portrayed recurring characters in the fifth season of the cable show Nip/Tuck, and in the third season of the CBS sitcom Rules of Engagement, becoming a series regular in the latter's fourth season.
In 2009, Kalyan appeared in the film Paul Blart: Mall Cop as Pahud, a teenager who admired his girlfriend Parisa, in Up in the Air as a fired employee, and in the cheerleader comedy Fired Up. In 2010, he appeared in Youth in Revolt, and in 2011, he appeared in a minor role in No Strings Attached.
In late 2015, he began starring in the Fox science fiction crime drama Second Chance. In December 2019, Kalyan was cast to portray Afghan interpreter Awalmir Karimi ("Al"), the main protagonist in the CBS sitcom United States of Al. The sitcom premiered on 1 April 2021, surrounded with controversy. Released to mostly negative reviews, the show and its makers were criticized for the show's humor, use of antiquated tropes, and in particular, critics called out the casting of a South-African-born Indian actor to play an Afghan lead and his use of an inauthentic accent.
Personal life
In March 2015, he became engaged to actress Emily Wilson of General Hospital. He and Wilson married on 1 October 2016 at Colony 29 in Palm Springs, California. They welcomed their first child together, a daughter born on 23 March 2021.
Quotes
Perhaps because my background is theatrical, I have a great affinity with the classics. Hamlet has always been a character of great interest to me and a character I would really love to play. Or a character in a Tennessee Williams play, maybe Tom in 'The Glass Menagerie.
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.
All of the actors that have served to me as inspiration over the years have been those more associated with dramatic work who have, in turn, been able to embody their characters and lose themselves in those characters that they create.
I create a playlist for each and every character that I play.
I was raised in a spirit of the importance of service to your fellow man. My mom is a senator back home in South Africa. My father is a very caring and generous individual.
I usually just go on Google and spend my hours just Googling Jennifer Beals. I think it's possible that I have a slightly unordinary obsession with her. YouTube videos. Interviews with her. Pictures I put on my desktop and my phone.
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.
