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 PanjabiSometimes my ethnicity is relevant, other times not. I definitely get the best of both worlds.
Archie PanjabiYou have this impression from England that New Yorkers can be quite aggressive, but certainly the people that I've bumped into and the friends I've made here don't seem that way. Just walking down the street and asking for directions, people seem to be very helpful and happy to help.
Archie PanjabiMy mother told me not to listen to anyone. She had been told that she wouldn't be able to teach and she did.
Archie PanjabiSince 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