Utkarsh Ambudkar turns sober and gets second chance on Broadway
Utkarsh Ambudkar has a major role in “Freestyle Love Supreme,” which opens at the Booth Theater on Broadway New York on October 2, 2019.
It is a improvisational, hip-hop comedy show. Every night the performers take suggestions from the audience and spin them into instantaneous riffs and full-length musical numbers. Every night is different: no two shows are the same. The performers don’t know what they are rapping about till the audience makes suggestions. https://freestylelovesupreme.com/about/
It took more than 15 years for Freestyle Love Supreme — created by Thomas Kail, Lin-Manuel Miranda, and Anthony Veneziale — to get to Broadway. With special and spontaneous guest appearances from Lin-Manuel Miranda, Christopher Jackson, Daveed Diggs, James Monroe Iglehart, and more, every night brings the unexpected.
Utkarsh turns sober and revives his acting career
Since 2005 Utkarsh has been performing with the FLS group. He had the chance to play Aaron Burr in “Hamilton,” the wildly successful Broadway musical. He played the role in a workshop and early readings of the musical, written by Lin-Manuel Miranda. But Utkarsh tripped due to his alcoholism and the role of Burr went to Leslie Odom Jr. who won a Tony award for the role. “…it was partying at night, it was being preoccupied, growing up as a brown person, feeling unattractive, and seeking a validation of the opposite sex to sort of fill a hole, my self-worth,” Utkarsh told The New York Times.
Since turning sober in 2014, Utkarsh has revived his career. He has appeared in the comedy film Pitch Perfect as the character Donald, and in the television shows The Mindy Project and The Muppets. He is also on the Showtime series White Famous.
Reviews for Freestyle Love Supreme
"Fast, furious, funny, and wildly entertaining."
- The Hollywood Reporter
"It's a delightfully wit-laced evening of comedy rap for a wide range of ages."
- The Washington Post
Dev Patel still competes in casting calls with Ambudkar despite winning an Oscar
In this interview, Utkarsh Ambudkar talks with Rich Roll about the struggle of South Asians to find roles in Hollywood: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMeZ3tQEvVY
Utkarsh Ambudkar Bio
Utkarsh Ambudkar was born December 8, 1983 in Baltimore, Maryland. His parents, who migrated from India in the 1980’s, were both biochemists working for the National Institutes of Health. Growing up in the suburbs, he faced racial taunts from white children. Accepted by the black children in his area, he also embraced hip-hop early and viewed the basketball star Michael Jordan as a hero.
Utkarsh got a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University. He is a former VJ for MTV Desi. He has appeared in the comedy film Pitch Perfect as the character Donald, and in the television shows The Mindy Project and The Muppets. He is also on the Showtime series White Famous. Utkarsh also originated the role of Aaron Burr in the developmental readings of Hamilton.
Quotes from Utkarsh Ambudkar
Role Models: I didn't have a role model. My role model was Michael Jordan. Bad role model for an Indian dude... I didn't have anyone who looked like me. And by the time I was old enough to have what could have been a role model, they were my peers. Aziz Ansari is my peer. Kal Penn is my peer.
On Rap: I moved to New York - I attended NYU, did a BFA in Acting at NYU. I was really into hip-hop, so I started battling, like '8 Mile.' I used to rap battle.
You have to find a way - and thankfully for me, it's been music - to separate yourself from the racial identity. It's not easy, and I continue to work, God bless, and I'm really, truly appreciative of it.
Praying at a temple: I didn't go to church, I didn't go to synagogue; I went to temple, Hindu temple, where I prayed to my Hindu gods - whether or not I believe in it is another story.
Brown Boy’s Success: The amount of love I get from India, from Pakistan, from Asia, from Persia, Malaysia - people are just like, 'Brown boy doing it, brown boy doing it!'
It takes time for brown people and people of different ethnicities to get into the Hollywood world, which is predominantly Caucasian and African American.
From IMDB: https://www.imdb.com/name/nm2064295/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm
