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!