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Since I was a baby my goal was to be on TV because film was just impossible - you never got any Asian women in Western cinema. I grew up wanting to be in 'East-Enders' because film wasn't even a dream. The community were very much like, 'How can you want to act? It's such a low-class profession.

Archie Panjabi

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Archie Panjabi
Age: 52
Born: 1972
Born: May 31
Actor
Actress
Film Actor
Never
Class
Lows
Like
Goal
East
Community
Western
Film
Baby
Ender
Dream
Grew
Asian
Women
Wasn
Wanting
Even
Impossible
Cinema
Much
Since
Profession

More quotes by Archie Panjabi

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The generation that migrated to the West in the 1970s or 1960s has now lived more in the West than India, and India has changed so much. My parents fall into that category.
Archie Panjabi
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Coming to New York is like a big hug, everyone is so welcoming. There's something about here, everyone makes you feel so at home. I miss my family of course, but I don't miss London that much. I was worried, but I feel really at home. Everyone says that who comes here from London, but I didn't believe them.
Archie Panjabi
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Sometimes my ethnicity is relevant, other times not. I definitely get the best of both worlds.
Archie Panjabi
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I knew from a young age that I wanted to be an actor. I never even thought about other careers. The acting field is certainly not the path many Indian parents encourage their children to take, but mine were very supportive. They wanted me to have an education, but understood that this is what I wanted to do.
Archie Panjabi
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Luckily my parents were not against my ambition, they've always been very supportive. But they were adamant that I went to university first.
Archie Panjabi
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I am still married, yes - no children. I have Benzo, though he's my dog, a Lhasa apso.
Archie Panjabi
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You can have all the agents and publicists in the world but no one's ever going to give you 110 per cent like someone who loves you.
Archie Panjabi
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I have always let the lack of Indian actors in the industry drive me, not hold me back. I remember an agent in L.A. telling me a few years ago that an Indian actor wouldn't ever make it in Hollywood, but my ethnicity has helped me.
Archie Panjabi
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I had a dialect coach to get an American accent, and then another dialect coach to come off it a bit. There is something deep and mysterious in the voice when it isn't too high-pitched American.
Archie Panjabi
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I'd love to say I made the smart decision of picking projects that became hits, but with 'The Good Wife,' I read the script and something inside me said, 'I love this, I want to do this.'
Archie Panjabi
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When I started out in the '90s, there were not many people of color writing, directing and producing - hence, the roles for people of color were few and far between. There's still few roles in England [where she's from].
Archie Panjabi
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I think it is vital to fight to do something you want to do despite not gaining your community's or your friends' approval.
Archie Panjabi
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A lot of the time, people want to hear from someone like myself. They want to give it a shot. It's challenging, and it's driven me more than discouraged me.
Archie Panjabi
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I have been extremely proactive in putting myself up for characters that may have been meant to specifically be Caucasian. You bring an interesting angle to the character that isn't written.
Archie Panjabi
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I'd love to do a romantic comedy. And perhaps, if the character was right and I had a good gut instinct, a Bollywood movie. And I'd love to direct. One day. I'm learning a lot on the set of 'The Good Wife.'
Archie Panjabi
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I am one of the new characters in the brand new series of 'Postman Pat.' It has been a joy to do.
Archie Panjabi
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I like to do new things, so I always take on roles that I feel will keep me on my toes. I never want to pigeon myself, so I always like to surprise myself. I believe in versatility and so I would play anything as long as it was a challenge.
Archie Panjabi
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I feel like I have one foot in New York, one foot in London and one foot in India. But it's important to me to invest time with family.
Archie Panjabi
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I went out for a film where they wanted seven brothers and one sister, so I was there for half a day while they were waiting for 'Archie' to read for a boy I've had drivers come to pick me up in England looking for a blond, blue-eyed Scottish boy.
Archie Panjabi
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I went to Brunel University and very much wanted to go on to do a PhD in management, but then my acting career started to take off. In those days when you switched on the box there were hardly any brown or black faces.
Archie Panjabi