In the new Amazon Prime comedy series The Pradeeps of Pittsburgh, Ashwin Sakthivel plays Vinod Pradeep alongside his on-screen family Sindhu Vee, Naveen Andrews, Sahana Srinivasan and Arjun Sriram. Ashwin will be playing Shiv Saini in the upcoming feature film Picture This, and his further screen roles include joining Series 3 of CBBC’s Lagging as regular character Arul, for which he also made a guest appearance on Saturday Mash-Up with his co-star Yoni Bronks, and he played Edmund Woodward in the Easter special of Dodger – Bad Egg. As a voice actor, Ashwin voiced Mo in Pip and Posy and Young Smed in BBC One’s TV movie The Smeds and the Smoos, and Ashwin attended The Smeds and the Smoos’ premiere, where he met the author of the original book Julia Donaldson. Earlier this year, Ashwin made his professional stage debut, when he played Bill in Dear Octopus at the National Theatre. Speaking with Ashwin, we found out from him about playing Vinod Pradeep in The Pradeeps of Pittsburgh, filming as regular character Arul in CBBC’s Lagging and making his professional stage debut in Dear Octopus at the National Theatre this year.

How would you describe your character Vinod Pradeep in the new Amazon Prime comedy series The Pradeeps of Pittsburgh, and can you tell us about the series?

Vinod Pradeep is an absolute optimist, he is so open to this new environment – America. The Pradeeps of Pittsburgh follows an Indian family moving to Pittsburgh and it shows all their struggles that they are going through in a comedic way.

Was there anything that drew you to the series and do you remember how you felt finding out you’d booked the role?

What drew me to this job was the fact that it was about an Indian, South Asian family and it required me to do an accent, which was very similar to the accent I was around at home.

What is Vinod like to play and how did you prepare for filming?

Vinod Pradeep is honestly so fun to play as I think he is so much like myself, so to me I wouldn’t prepare as such but I would just scream and go crazy to become Vinod because he is a very crazy character.

What did you enjoy most about filming alongside your on-screen family – Sindhu Vee, Naveen Andrews, Sahana Srinivasan and Arjun Sriram?

I loved filming with all these amazing stars who have become my family in real life now. The bond we all had with each other off set – built by things like Pizza nights we had every Saturday, walks around downtown Toronto, where we filmed – was really evident on screen.

You will be playing Shiv Saini in the upcoming feature film Picture This, what can you tell us about this project and what are you looking forward to for the release?

I managed to get this project through the same casting director as The Pradeeps of Pittsburgh so I was lucky to be offered the job straight away. Even though it was a very small role, it was my first feature film so I was very excited.

How was it joining the cast of CBBC’s Lagging for Series 3 as new regular character Arul, and how much did you know about the series before auditioning?

Joining the cast on Lagging was so fun for me because of the fact that I had actually watched the show before I auditioned and was a big fan of it.

What was it like filming as a regular character for CBBC and what was Arul like to play?

When I was younger, it would have been my dream to film as a regular character for a CBBC show, and to make it happen was honestly amazing. I loved the character I played, Arul, because I’m a bit of a gamer myself. 🙂

Can you tell us about your time as a guest on Saturday Mash-Up alongside your Lagging co-star Yoni Bronks?

I really enjoyed Saturday Mash-Up because we took part in an obstacle course where we dressed up as inflatable dinosaurs.

In the Easter special of Dodger – Bad Egg – you played Edmund Woodward, what are some of your stand-out memories from filming?

On Dodger, I was an outrageous comic character so I was able to embrace the comedy aspect of that. The costumes were very fun as I got to wear a top hat and tails.

Earlier this year, you played Bill in Dear Octopus at the National Theatre, how did you find the experience making your professional stage debut?

Making my professional stage debut itself was great and for it to be at the National Theatre was even better and I am honoured to have had that experience.

What was Dear Octopus like to be part of and how was it performing at the National Theatre?

The cast of Dear Octopus was extremely well-known and experienced so I was honoured to have worked beside them.

As a voiceover actor, you voice Mo in the children’s animated series Pip and Posy, how is it getting into character?

The character of Mo was apparently drawn specially for me so I thought it was quite a natural one to do and pretending to be a few years younger than I am was extremely enjoyable.

What was it like voicing Young Smed in The Smeds and the Smoos for BBC One and attending the premiere, where you met the author Julia Donaldson?

Meeting Julia Donaldson was a dream come true as I had read all her books growing up and I was a huge fan, especially of The Gruffalo.

How did you get into acting and was it something you always wanted to do?

I had taken part in local drama competitions and I was lucky enough to have been spotted by a particular drama teacher who had trained me and went on to be my agent. I had always been fascinated by TV, but comedy in particular, so to be in a comedy was something I always had wanted.

Do you have any favourite films, TV and theatre shows to watch, and how do you like to spend your free time?

For me, I particularly like high comedy so I had always been a fan of things like Citizen Khan, and The Misadventures of Romesh Ranganathan, which really I shouldn’t be watching for my age. 🙂

What are you hoping next year brings for you and do you have any projects coming up that you can tell us about?

We are currently waiting to see if there will be a Season 2 of The Pradeeps of Pittsburgh, and I’ve also just recently auditioned for an amazing part in a feature film.

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