Meet U S Praveen | Actor

We had the good fortune of connecting with U S Praveen and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi U S Praveen, we’d love to hear about how you approach risk and risk-taking
Risk Management Consultant would have been the career I would have been in if I hadn’t made the jump from that to Acting. So yes I do know a thing or two about Risk Taking and how to take them.

According to Modern Portfolio Theory we will choose a risk free asset and pair them with other risky asset the more risk loving you are the riskier asset with a higher standard deviation and vice versa.

However, for me, those assets that I will be investing in, I would have almost no control over, yet that will determine my day to day mental well-being.

I did not like that.

That’s why I chose to invest in myself. I know how hard I can work and have worked and that has paid off dividends for me.

Appearing as a series regular on National TV in Singapore alongside the people I watched growing up to being a lead in Guinness’s St Patricks Day Commercial for South East Asia to Internationally, starring in Air New Zealand’s commercial when lockdown restrictions were lifted and appearing in a Off- Broadway Musical directed by Rimli Roy to name a few,

All of which would not have happened if I didn’t bet on myself.

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I am a strong believer that art can be and is a strong proponent to rewire ourselves and force us to look at our own biases and question them and hopefully smash the archaic biases that doesn’t serve our society anymore.

And in the medium that I have chosen, Acting, be it stage or screen it can do wonders for that.

Very early on in my career, My agent would send me to auditions for roles which would specifically be for my ethnicity. That did bother me a little because, I did not see myself as different from the other folks in my agency and I knew I could do the jobs that they did.

Because, hailing from a multicultural society like Singapore and now New York City, what I saw portrayed as the norm and what the actual norm is extremely different. That was when I made the resolve to smash this ‘definition’ of what ‘normal’ is.

Not only that, since I was a kid and even up till my military days, I was taught in the Singapore pledge, “Regardless of race, language or religion to build a democratic society…” and the United States equivalent, “All men are created equal… with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness” and with this, I knew was ‘armed’ with the audacity to ask for equality

So I did. I remember getting on the phone with my agent and explaining to them, what my plan is and what I was trying to accomplish however, it wasn’t as easy as I thought it to be.  It took a lot of convincing and I can be very persuasive.

I knew I was making progress, because I started receiving more auditions, it might not have been for my typecast, but I was still being seen in those auditions that weren’t available to me earlier on.

After awhile my work spoke for itself. I started booking acting gigs and commercials and posters where there were more representation for top tourist attractions like Sentosa Island, Lead talents for Guinness’s St Patricks Day campaign for South East Asia or even Internationally for Air New Zealand where I play a mixed race couple who are eager to travel when the lockdown restrictions are lifted

Not only that, I like to choose roles which are underrepresented or misunderstood. That opportunity came when I was cast as a series regular in a National TV Show called Vettai 5, where I had to play a serial killer (think Joe from You (Netflix)). That role was enlightening to me because, I had to justify to myself what the character was doing and while the world saw him as a serial killer, I saw him as a child who grew up in an abusive household and should have gotten help as kid but didn’t, which then resulted in him becoming this awful human being.

With that being said, It also warms my heart knowing that I’m not the only one who is feeling this way and wants to put an end to this or at least make it better for the future generations.
That’s why I have also reached out to National Asian Arts Project (NAAP) to assist them in any way possible which is headed by Baayork Lee (original Connie from A Chorus Line) who is also determined in this cause and has been producing classic shows with Asian cast.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Hmmm it’s pretty straightforward for me. I will start with a coffee at La Colombe at NoHo and then head down to Washington Square Park, that will set them up for the incredible diversity that the city has to offer and once that’s done we’ll slowly make our way up on Broadway and stop by Strand Bookstore for a quick browse and hopefully purchase a book (or two).

Once we get to Herald Square, I would stop at K Town for a quick pitstop at BBQ Chicken and then make our way up. As we approach the Theater District, I would stop by and show them the theaters that I performed in and the theaters that I want to perform in.

And once we are in Midtown, I would bring them to Urban Hawker for some good delicious Singaporean food that should fuel us for the rest of the day. In case that isn’t enough, I would stop by a Dunkin’ Donut to get a coffee and a donut (Dunkin’s coffee reigns supreme)

And I would continue heading north through Central Park and bring them to my favourite spot in The Ramble. I would love to share where is it, so if you do want to find out, please holler at me.

After that we will be close to Central Park West and I would walk over on to 72nd St and grab hotdogs from Gray’s Papaya and walk west all the way to Riverside Park and watch the sunset.

Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
I am a strong believer of, there’s no such thing as a self made person. Ever. Everyone who claims that they are self made, I’m certain that there has been someone in their life’s who had shown them the ropes or took a chance on them or gave them words of encouragement by seeing something that they did not see.

And for me there were multiple people, but right now I would like to give a shoutout to my first acting coach, Kamil Haque.

I started studying acting with Kamil in 2020 right after I graduated from university.

I will never forget that day, we were working on bringing a painting to ‘life’ by endowing the subjects in the painting ‘life’. I had a painting ready to go and also wrote a short story based on real life events as well. I rehearsed it mentally multiple times and I thought I was gonna ace it.

Then came my turn, I went up, I thought I was going to ace it. I did not. I started hyperventilating but I still went through with it. Once I was done, Kamil asked me, “ how was that for you” I replied. “It’s a mess, an absolute mess”. (The exact words)

He looked at me with such kind and benevolent eyes and then he approached me and whispered something into my ears and told me to say that out loud and proud three times with your arms stretched wide. The skeptic in my mind went “ Not this Californian business” but I still said it.

“My name is U S Praveen and I am enough”

I said it once and when I breathed in to say it for the second time my eyes started to well up and by the third time I was bawling my eyes out.

While I was on stage, my entire class was holding space for me, none of them broke eye contact with me. Up until that point I’ve never been more ‘seen’ , ‘held’ ever.

Things were never the same for me ever, I walked different, I walked knowing that the way I show up is enough.

I have thanked Kamil multiple times over the years but I cant thank him enough. He gave me the space to be myself, to fail and succeed as myself and showed me that, who I am is enough. If it wasn’t for him, I don’t think I’ll be out here appearing on hit Off-Broadway productions or on National tv productions.

Website: https://uspraveenuolsrc.wixsite.com/usp-site

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/prabeenus/

Image Credits
Molly Misek.