Jump to content

Utkarsh Ambudkar

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by TutterMouse (talk | contribs) at 19:13, 24 February 2023 (→Television: name). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

Utkarsh Ambudkar
Ambudkar at the 2022 New York Comic Con
Born (1983-12-08) December 8, 1983 (age 40)
Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Other names
  • UTK the INC
  • UTK
Alma materTisch School of Arts
Occupations
  • Actor
  • rapper
  • singer
Years active2004–present
Spouse
Naomi
​
(m. 2019)​
[1]
Children2[2]

Utkarsh Ambudkar (/ˈʊtkɑːrʃ æmˈbʊdkɑːr/ UUT-karsh am-BUUD-kar;[3] born December 8, 1983), also known by his stage name UTK the INC, is an American actor, rapper, and singer. He is known for his film roles including Pitch Perfect (2012), Game Over, Man! (2018), Blindspotting (2018), Brittany Runs a Marathon (2019), The Broken Hearts Gallery (2020), Free Guy (2021), and Tick, Tick... Boom! (2021). His television roles include The Mindy Project, White Famous, Never Have I Ever, and Ghosts. He recently appeared in the Hulu limited series The Dropout (2022).

He made his Broadway debut in Lin-Manuel Miranda's improvisational hip-hop show Freestyle Love Supreme in 2019.

Early life

Ambudkar was born in Baltimore, Maryland. He grew up in the suburbs where his parents, who had emigrated from India in the 1980s, were research scientists at the National Institutes of Health. He starred in comedy roles at Thomas S. Wootton High School in Rockville, Maryland, and he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from the Tisch School of the Arts at New York University in 2004.[4][5][6][7]

Through his mother, Ambudkar is a descendant of the lawyer and jurist Sir Vembakkam Bhashyam Aiyangar.[8]

Career

Ambudkar is a former VJ for MTV Desi. He appeared in the comedy film Pitch Perfect as the character Donald, and in the television shows The Mindy Project and The Muppets.[9] He was set to star in the Fox series Eat, Pray, Thug[10] but the show was not picked up.[11] Ambudkar originated the role of Aaron Burr in the developmental readings of Hamilton.[4][12] He was seen in the Dungeons & Dragons campaign Force Grey: Giant Hunters and Force Grey: Lost City of Omu, hosted by Matthew Mercer. In that, he played the character "Hitch", a rogue with a nefarious past. He formerly played Raj on the sitcom Brockmire.

He was a member of the musical group "The Beatards." Utkarsh has appeared in several Youtube sketch comedy skits including the comedy groups CollegeHumor and Key & Peele.

Since 2005, Ambudkar has been a part of hip-hop improv group Freestyle Love Supreme under the name UTK the INC.[4] As part of the group, he participated in the limited television series for Pivot in 2014[13] and made his Broadway debut in the group's self-titled show on October 2, 2019.[14] He played Jern in the 2019 film Brittany Runs a Marathon.

He played Skatch, a con artist, in a deleted scene of the 2020 Disney live-action remake of Mulan.[15] That same year he appeared in Disney's Godmothered, and then in the 2021 action comedy Free Guy.[16][17] In 2020, Ambudkar debuted as the mongoose Chikku in the Disney Junior animated series Mira, Royal Detective. He is currently starring in the CBS supernatural sitcom Ghosts (2021).[18]

Personal life

Ambudkar married in 2019, and has two children.[1]

Discography

  • The Gold Tusk EP (2006)
  • Members Only EP (2012)[19]
  • Vanity (2019)
  • Petty (2019)

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2007 Rocket Science Ram
2008 Last Call Nikash
2012 Pitch Perfect Donald
2015 Freaks of Nature Parminder
2016 Ride Along 2 Amir
2016 Barbershop: The Next Cut Raja
2017 Basmati Blues Rajit
2018 Blindspotting Rin
2018 Game Over, Man! Bae Awadi
2019 Brittany Runs a Marathon Jern Dahn
2020 Mulan Skatch Deleted scene
2020 The Broken Hearts Gallery Max Vora
2020 Godmothered Grant
2021 Tom & Jerry Real estate rat Voice
2021 Free Guy Mouser
2021 Tick, Tick... Boom! Todd
2022 The Ice Age Adventures of Buck Wild Orson Voice
2022 Marry Me Coach Manny

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2006; 2010 The Electric Company UTK; Harry 2 episodes
2011 Danni Lowinski Rasoul Television film
2012 Freestyle Love Supreme UTK Television film
2013–2017 The Mindy Project Rishi Lahiri 10 episodes
2013 China, IL Aladdin (voice) Episode: "Wild Hogs"
2016 The Simpsons Jay (voice) Episode: "Much Apu About Something"
2016 The Muppets Pizza 3 episodes
2017 White Famous Malcolm 10 episodes
2017 The Problem with Apu Himself Documentary television film
2018 Trolls: The Beat Goes On! Master Controll Episode: "Big Poppy"
2018 Bartlett Sanjay Kahn 4 episodes
2018–2020 Brockmire Raj 5 episodes
2018–2020 Harvey Street Kids Fredo, Teen Boy, Tiny Duck (voice) 17 episodes
2020 Mira, Royal Detective Chikku, Male Judge, Train Engineer, Engineer, Passenger, Uncle (voice) Main role
2020 Central Park — Songwriter: "The Park Is Mine" (with Rafael Casal)[20]
2021-2022 Never Have I Ever Mr. Kulkarni Recurring (season 2-3)
2021 Blindspotting Niles Turner Guest Star (season 1, episode 8)
2021 Robot Chicken Aang, Sora, Xenomorph Student #1 (voice) Episode: "May Cause Numb Butthole"
2021–present Ghosts Jay Main role[21]
2021 Special Ravi 3 episodes
2022 The Dropout Rakesh Madhava Recurring
2023 Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur Anand (voice) Recurring
TBA Avatar: The Last Airbender King Bumi Recurring[22]

Theatre

Year Title Role Venue Ref.
2004 History of the Word Ali Crossroads Theatre [23][24]
2005 The Me Nobody Knows Performer Staged Reading, Vineyard Theatre [25]
2005 The Snow Queen Kay Urban Stages [26][27]
2007 History of the Word Ali Washington Irving High School
LaGuardia Performing Arts Center 		[28][29][30]
2008 Rafta, Rafta... Etash Tailor Acorn Theater/The New Group, Off-Broadway [31][32]
2008 Animals Out of Paper Suresh McGinn/Cazale Theatre, Off-Broadway [33][34]
2009 Dov and Ali Ali Cherry Lane Theatre, Off-Broadway [35][36]
2010 The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity Vigneshwar Paduar Second Stage Theatre, Off-Broadway [37]
2012 Modern Terrorism, or They Who Want to Kill
Us and How We Learn to Love Them 		Rahim Second Stage Theatre, Off-Broadway [38][39][40]
2013 Hamilton Aaron Burr Vassar College, Workshop [41]
2019 Freestyle Love Supreme Himself Greenwich House Theater, Off-Broadway [42][43][44]
2019–20 Booth Theatre, Broadway [45][46]

References

  1. ^ a b "Meet 'Ghosts' Star Utkarsh Ambudkar and His Cute Little Family". 7 October 2021.
  2. ^ Instagram
  3. ^ "Let's Talk About Me, Baby with Utkarsh Ambudkar". Retrieved December 17, 2018.
  4. ^ a b c Caramanica, Jon (2019-09-26). "Utkarsh Ambudkar Finally Gets His Broadway Shot in 'Freestyle Love Supreme'". The New York Times. Retrieved 2019-10-04.
  5. ^ Marks, Peter (September 26, 2019). "How chill can Broadway get? Lin-Manuel Miranda and company throw down some 'Freestyle Love' to find out". The Washington Post.
  6. ^ Williams, Elizabeth (November 16, 2000). "A Comedy That'll Slay You". The Washington Post.
  7. ^ Wilcher, Joel (March 29, 2001). "An 'Anything' With Everything". The Washington Post.
  8. ^ Mathai, Kamini (February 14, 2020). "Utkarsh Ambudkar, rapper who stole the show at Oscars, has a Chennai connection". The Times of India. Retrieved May 28, 2022.
  9. ^ Peitzman, Louis (8 January 2013). ""Pitch Perfect" Breakout Utkarsh Ambudkar Takes On "The Mindy Project"". BuzzFeed. Retrieved 7 May 2017.
  10. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (28 September 2015). "Utkarsh Ambudkar To Star In Fox Comedy 'Eat Pray Thug' Inspired By Rapper Heems". Deadline Hollywood.
  11. ^ "Heems' TV Show Is Not Happening". Pitchfork. 20 October 2016. Retrieved 2019-10-04.
  12. ^ Utkarsh Ambudkar and Nisha Ganatra Reveal What Has (and Hasn't) Changed in Hollywood, 2 February 2019, retrieved 2019-11-14
  13. ^ "Lin-Manuel Miranda on bringing Freestyle Love Supreme to TV". EW.com. Retrieved 2019-10-04.
  14. ^ Peikert, Mark (2019-06-18). "Lin-Manuel Miranda's Freestyle Love Supreme Coming to Broadway". Playbill. Retrieved 2019-10-04.
  15. ^ "Disney Casts 'Mulan' Love Interest (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. 6 June 2018. Retrieved 2019-10-04.
  16. ^ "Ryan Reynolds strikes a pose with 'Free Guy' cast as filming ramps up in Boston | Boston.com". www.boston.com. Retrieved 2019-10-04.
  17. ^ PRODUCTION HAS BEGUN ON NEW DISNEY+ MOVIE "GODMOTHERED"
  18. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (July 1, 2020). "Utkarsh Ambudkar To Star Opposite Rose McIver In CBS Comedy Pilot 'Ghosts'". Deadline Hollywood.
  19. ^ "Members Only EP by UTK the INC". Bandcamp.
  20. ^ Harnick, Chris (May 29, 2020). "Central Park Is Here to Give You New Music by Sara Bareilles, Darren Criss and Many More". E! Online. Retrieved June 6, 2020.
  21. ^ Andreeva, Nellie (31 March 2021). "'Ghosts' Comedy Starring Rose McIver & Utkarsh Ambudkar Picked Up To Series By CBS". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 2 April 2021.
  22. ^ "Netflix's 'Avatar: The Last Airbender' Taps Utkarsh Ambudkar As King Bumi (EXCLUSIVE)". July 25, 2022.
  23. ^ Jones, Kenneth (October 16, 2004). "Hip-Hop History of the Word Speaks Its Mind Oct. 16–24 at Crossroads Theatre Co. in NJ". Playbill. Retrieved November 22, 2015.
  24. ^ Daniels, Robert L. (October 21, 2004). "Review: 'History of the Word'". Variety. Retrieved November 22, 2015.
  25. ^ Simonson, Robert (January 20, 2005). "Scott Schwartz to Direct New Reading of Musical The Me Nobody Knows". Playbill. Retrieved November 22, 2015.
  26. ^ Graeber, Laurel (December 30, 2005). "Ice, Ice Baby: Urban Twists on an Old-Fashioned Tale". The New York Times. Retrieved November 22, 2015.
  27. ^ "The Snow Queen". urbanStages. Retrieved November 22, 2015.
  28. ^ Pincus-Roth, Zachary (February 27, 2007). "Vineyard and Queens Theatre's History of the Word Begins Feb. 27". Playbill. Retrieved November 22, 2015.
  29. ^ Allen, Kerri (March 6, 2007). "History of the Word". Backstage. Retrieved November 22, 2015.
  30. ^ Cooper, Amanda. "A CurtainUp Review: History of the Word". CurtainUp. Retrieved November 22, 2015. Especially charming is Utkarsh Ambudkar as the ROTC-bound Ali, whose stage presence and timing are undeniably spot-on.
  31. ^ "The New Group Presents 'Rafta, Rafta' Opening Tonight!". BroadwayWorld. May 8, 2008. Retrieved November 22, 2015.
  32. ^ Brantley, Ben (May 9, 2008). "No Sex, Please, We're British Indians". The New York Times. Retrieved November 22, 2015.
  33. ^ "Animals Out of Paper Production Information". BroadwayWorld. Retrieved November 22, 2015.
  34. ^ Gates, Anita (August 5, 2008). "Works Well With Paper, Has Trouble With Life". The New York Times. Retrieved November 22, 2015.
  35. ^ "Playwrights Realm's DOV AND ALI Runs Thru 6/27". BroadwayWorld. June 16, 2009. Retrieved November 22, 2015.
  36. ^ Jaworowski, Ken (June 12, 2009). "A Jew and a Muslim, Firing Words After School". The New York Times. Retrieved November 22, 2015.
  37. ^ "The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity Off-Broadway Cast". BroadwayWorld. Retrieved November 22, 2015.
  38. ^ Hetrick, Adam (September 21, 2012). "Jon Kern's Modern Terrorism, With Utkarsh Ambudkar and Steven Boyer, Premieres at Second Stage Sept. 21". Playbill. Retrieved November 22, 2015.
  39. ^ Stasio, Marilyn (October 18, 2012). "Review: 'Modern Terrorism, or They Who Want to Kill Us and How We Learn to Love Them'". Variety. Retrieved November 22, 2015.
  40. ^ Isherwood, Charles (October 18, 2012). "Funny, but Plotting Havoc Isn't Easy, 'Modern Terrorism,' by Jon Kern, at the Second Stage Theater". The New York Times. Retrieved November 22, 2015.
  41. ^ Who is Utkarsh Ambudkar
  42. ^ Paulson, Michael (October 29, 2018). "Lin-Manuel Miranda Puts Freestyle Love Supreme Back Onstage". The New York Times. Retrieved May 5, 2019.
  43. ^ "Freestyle Love Supreme". Playbill. Retrieved May 5, 2019.
  44. ^ Green, Jesse (February 12, 2019). "Review: At 'Freestyle Love Supreme,' Attention Must Be Paid. Really". The New York Times. Retrieved May 5, 2019.
  45. ^ "Freestyle Love Supreme". Playbill. Retrieved November 7, 2019.
  46. ^ Clement, Olivia (November 5, 2019). "Freestyle Love Supreme Extends on Broadway". Playbill. Retrieved November 7, 2019.
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Utkarsh_Ambudkar&oldid=1141374821"