We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Akshat Jha. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Akshat below.

Akshat, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. What did your parents do right and how has that impacted you in your life and career?

My parents have done everything right. Their support and belief has instilled in me a confidence that cannot be shaken. Not only have they always encouraged me to follow my dreams, but have also dreamt with me. My mother has researched, and found the right classes for me and taken me to every single one of them. She has pushed me to work for my dreams by working for them herself. She has spent a lot of her time waiting outside, while I attended acting / dance classes that went on for long hours. She was my mentor throughout my prep for acting school admissions. From taking my mock interviews to giving genuine feedback on monologues, she did everything and more. She would throw things at me to push me out of my comfort zone so I would be prepared to do the same in the actual auditions. She understood how much I loved acting and loved it as hard for my sake.

While my mother lived for us, with us, my father lived for us, without us.. I come from a small city in India named “Satna”, where mom and dad ran their hospital. The hospital is our source of everything. Dad worked his ass off at the hospital, seeing patients from day to night so we could be exposed to better facilities in a bigger city (“Delhi”). He wanted mom to be with us, to show us the world of possibilities that he had opened doors to. Big things in big cities were enabled by this one man’s undying efforts in a city most people haven’t even heard of. It’s how I could come to New York too..

Their team work’s foundation was total sacrifice, they devoted their existence to their children.. Here’s what mom and dad have said to me individually when I was leaving back for New York after a short wholesome stay with them in India –
Dad: “Shall miss you every moment but shall have the consolation that you are chasing your dreams the way one should.”
Mom: “If you’re working hard, you’re going nowhere.”

If they refuse to stop for me, how can I not do the same?

Akshat, before we move on to more of these sorts of questions, can you take some time to bring our readers up to speed on you and what you do? What sets you apart? What are you proud of? What should your followers/co-workers know about you?

I am a NYC based Actor, Dancer and Model . After I completed my Bachelors degree in filmmaking from India, I came to New York to train myself in acting at the Lee Strasberg Theatre & Film Institute. How I got into this art form is a question which always puzzles me a little because I was definitely born with it. I don’t recall a moment when something inspired me to want to be an actor, and I also never considered anything else. The dream of being an actor was always the most familiar part of me, to me.

I am currently in a touring off-Broadway musical for children (“Holiday Beat”). In this show, we’re taking children through the holiday traditions of different countries in the world through song and dance. It’s an immersive, interactive, educational piece that has been a very rewarding experience for me. It’s a great feeling to bring them joy through doing what I love. Right before this, I was playing the lead in another off-Broadway musical (“Ramaavan”) which was an adaptation of India’s greatest epic – “The Ramayan”. Playing the role of King Raavan has by far been the most challenging experience for me. I was required to sing, dance, and fight with pulsating anger on stage.
I am playing the lead in the ongoing production of TV series “Dharm”, which honours Indian househelp, the people without whom our households can’t function. I was the lead actor and dancer in Arcane Motif’s music video of the song “Kahaniyaan”, which is a simple and hopeful story about human connection. I made my New York stage debut with “Constellations of Everything Before Us”, a devised show for Asian Spotlight 2023, held at The Marilyn Monroe Theatre. The show was a sold-out success, and it gave me the opportunity to share who I am with the physical and virtual audiences (more like because of who, I am..). I delivered an original monologue about the beauty of dependence, which led to a dance piece inspired from a very memorable night of my life.
Modelling is something I got into instinctively along the way, because I felt that this world was what I needed to get into to attain the confidence I aim to have as an artist. I stood in the never-ending casting lines for New York Fashion Week this year, learnt to walk the runway by observing others and practising. Fortunately, I ended up booking three fashion week shows, and am now a signed model with Eris Talent Agency! I feel most grateful for waking up hopeful everyday.

Having freelanced with projects across various art-forms for the past couple of months, I’ve been commended for my positive attitude and adjustability. After all, what anyone’s really looking for is an artist who is “easy to work with.” I’m not the one to crib, I’m the one to encourage and help find solutions. My sincerity and optimism set me apart.

I am proud of myself for being out there, working hard and saying yes to everything, knowing no work is small and everything is just a new beautiful opportunity to express myself. It’s amazing that I get to make a living out of these special chances. I don’t take anything for granted, I love and cherish the people I get to spend time with and learn from.

What you should know about me is that I will put my heart and soul into what we decide to create together. I will be in it with complete honesty, passion, openness, and sensitivity. I also expect the same! John Lennon says it perfectly – “People think you want them to do something or say something special…you don’t. You just want them to be themselves, so you can be yourself.”

We often hear about learning lessons – but just as important is unlearning lessons. Have you ever had to unlearn a lesson?

That acting is about mastering emotion. This is the art form of human behaviour, of life.. and in life, we do not vomit an emotion on purpose. We cannot, it’s not biologically possible! Everything we “feel” is a result of something we “do”. As actors, we need to stay away from the seduction of emotion, and concentrate on the character’s action. The former stems out of the latter. As strange as it may sound, you need to cook and eat in order to shit. You do not and can not plan the shit, that just happens as a result of you eating.

The backstory/source of this revelation is my brilliant Strasberg acting teacher, Mr. Robert Ellermann. I really wish every aspiring actor could be in class with him.

What’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative in your experience?

The most rewarding aspect of being an artist for me is that I learn about life through it, and through life, I get inspiration for my art. It’s this cycle, this feeling of everything being useful to me!

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.akshat-jha.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/akshatjha_/
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCr6cZ_iR7noZAZ4uCzfnN2Q