Hi Gerrard , welcome to VENTS ! How have you been ? * Great ! Thanks for taking the time to speak to me .
With a few exceptions , most of your work has been on TV - did you always wanted to become a TV actor or this is the platform where you have sort of got destined to be ? * Well , I don ' t think there was a structured plan for which medium to pursue when I first got started in acting . I was very much enamored with acting in general . It started out that theater was what stuck first , then indie films , then television . I ' m always psyched and feel fortunate to work in any medium . I ' ve loved my experiences in the world of television , but will always go back to theater .
Throughout your career you have played a wide range of characters - how does every role prepares you for the one next after that or you always try to , in some way , start from the scratch with every new role that comes your way ? * I think you have to start from scratch . At least for me , right now , it starts with preparing for the audition . If you book the role , you know they like what you did in the reading , and if they want something different , they ' ll let you know on set . For theater , this evolves during rehearsal . You definitely learn from each experience though . Whether it ' s a technical or artistic lesson , you take that into your next performance .
Do you tend to look for roles that may or may not include something in particular ? * I have a great team in my agents and manager , and they seldom present me with something that wouldn ' t be either great for my career , fun to do , a challenge , or a combination of all three .
Let ' s talk about Orange Is The New Black - how was the audition process like ? * I ' m lucky that my team keeps me busy with auditions so I felt comfortable when I was in the room because it wasn ' t my first audition for a show . That was also due , in large part , to Jen Euston , the Casting Director for OITNB . She is great at what she does , is very disarming , and puts actors at ease so you can do your best work . There was an excellent energy in the room , and it was one of those times you leave the audition and think , " I have no idea whether I ' m going to get it , but that felt good ." I got the call about a week later that I booked it , and I think I may have called my agent back after our conversation just to make sure I wasn ' t dreaming : - )
Previous nurses have usually ended up being some mean people . Now , I understand you were only given a limited screenplay so you only get to know Adarsh very well until the 5th episode - did you had any hopes or worries about playing a potential " villain "? * I don ' t think the sensibility of a character scares me . It ' s more a sense of can I deliver on what is required . It was cool that they made Adarsh out to be a good guy , who is doing his job well . While some nurses might be portrayed otherwise given real life experiences or on TV , I think it speaks to a large population of the industry that gets up , goes to work , and does what is required of them , lots of times under extraordinary conditions . Shout out to nurses everywhere !
As you prepared for the role you did a bit of inside research - were you asking around any particular questions ? What aspect of Adarsh were you personally focusing the most ? * The major question I had was how good is he at his job , and how does he deal with stress . Given the writing and scenes , he is very capable , non-judegemental , and takes his responsibility seriously . Clearly he has a breaking point-- no sleep and constant work will do that to you . But , so far , he hasn ' t turned cynical . By the nature of being a medical professional , most times you ' re thrown more than you can handle by yourself .
What else is happening next in Gerrard Lobo ' s world ? * Nothing I can disclose at this time : -) I ' m just very grateful and feel very fortunate to have had the experience to play the character and thankful to OITNB for inviting me to be on the show . We ' ll see what the future holds for Adarsh . As far as other projects , look for me in this next season of Odd Mom Out on Bravo and in season two of Search Party on TBS ! Thanks again for taking the time !