We recently connected with U.S. Praveen and have shared our conversation below.

Hi U.S. Praveen, thanks for joining us today. Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

As an actor, you are only as good as your last work. That’s what the world will remember you by. There are many times when some actors’ best works get buried by their later work and sometimes it’s not for the best.

That’s why I’ve always made it a point to choose projects which are meaningful to me and I can be proud of it. The definition of meaningful projects definitely varies from individual to individual but for me it means, characters who are usually the underdogs and are trying to prove themselves to the world

When I was approached by Sonia Lim, to do a short film about a migrant worker who is wrongfully accused of a murder by his boss, how he works together with his buddy to acquit themselves. I was instantly sold.

That role meant a lot to me because, in Singapore migrant workers are overlooked despite them doing most of the menial labor, it’s hard to imagine a day if they aren’t part of the Singapore society and we got a glimpse of it during the lockdown. The streets had not been swept, construction sites abandoned.

So to give the voiceless the voice and to portray them as humane as possible was an absolute treat for me. The film “Foreign Words” is right now on its film festival circuit around the world.

Another criteria for me, would be also to fight for representation which has been an ongoing battle for me. Given how multicultural Singapore is, the same level of multicultural ness hasn’t really translated to mainstream media representation. Which is why I have always stressed to my agents to send me for casting calls even if it isn’t me that they are looking for.

I’m glad they did, because when I auditioned for the international airlines Air New Zealand to portray a Singaporean couple who is about to travel once the travel restrictions are lifted. I ended up booking the commercial despite not matching the ethnicity.

That was monumental to me because that was the first commercial approved by the airlines once both the countries’ governments have eased their travel restrictions and I was part of the first mixed race Singaporean couple portrayed in the commercial for the airlines.

That is exactly what I’m striving for, proper representation. It might not be easy getting into those rooms initially, however, once there, it’s your time to shine and show them why their archaic biases are wrong.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

Hello good people of the interwebs, I am U S Praveen and no the U S does not stand for “United States“ it’s actually my parents initials. My friends call me “Prav” or by my Instagram handle, “prabeenus”. I’m originally from Singapore.

And yes, as a Singaporean, I did have to do two years of National Service and during my time in the service we trained many places around the world, Brunei, Australia but my personal favorite, the United States. My unit was one of the few that was deployed with the 1st Battalion, 5th U S Marines Division in Camp Pendleton, CA.

But through a series of fortunate events, I found myself pursuing acting. Which is not what I had in mind growing up. For the longest time, I wanted to be an officer in the Armed Forces and that slowly changed when I was majoring in finance in my university and now I can only pretend to be either one of them onstage or on screen. However, I still do have my eyes set on being a volunteer firefighter too. Which is what I had wanted to be in when I was a kid (at least there is still some hope for this)

When I’m not auditioning or in a production, you can find me in the Lincoln Center Library devouring the archives of the members of The Group Theatre founded in the 30s by Lee Strasberg, Cheryl Crawford, and Harold Clurman. It’s a very pivotal part of American Theater history which is extremely overlooked and grossly wrongly represented.

And also because I went to the prestigious Lee Strasberg Theater and Film Inst. where actors like Adam Sandler (all around Legend), Rachel Brosnahan (Ms Maisel) and Miles Teller (Whiplash, Top Gun 2) went to school and trained in ‘method’ acting. I love reading up about how the ‘method’ has been developed. Let me tell you, it’s not what you read in the media. I will always be down for a chat about the Group Theatre or ‘method’ acting..

As an actor, I have been on multiple stage productions, most recently on Rimli Roy’s, Off – Broadway production of Ramavaan A Musical at the American Theater for Actors where shows like ‘Urinetown’ was premiered. And also on “The Cherry Orchard” Chekhov play with the NYC based theatre group “The Chekovians” who are devoted to producing Anton Chekov’s work here in the city and also in Europe

I have also appeared as a series regular on National Television on the hit tv show “Vettai 5” which was nominated for “Best Drama Series” 2022 for Pradana Vizha (think Emmys)

As an actor, I have also been a lead in notable campaigns around South East Asia for brands like Guinness for their St Patrick’s Day commercial which happens to be the biggest Irish Festival in a calendar year. Internationally, I was part of the first campaign for the international Airlines, Air New Zealand when the countries eased their travel restrictions and I was the first mixed Race Singaporean couple in their ad.

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

In the early stages of my acting journey, amidst rigorous training, I encountered the “painting exercise.” In the exercise, we would choose a painting that resonated with us and do a 5 min presentation based on our interpretation.

Despite stumbling through my presentation, everything that shouldn’t happen in a ‘good’ performance, happened. I was grappling with forgotten lines and hyperventilation, I owned up to the chaos, labeling it an “a mess, an absolute mess.” Yet, in a pivotal moment, my acting teacher, Kamil Haque approached me and whispered an instruction for me to do.

I had to say my name followed by “I am enough” three times. In my mind, I went, “Oh, here we go, pop psychology.” But when I actually said it, it reshaped my perspective and catalyzed a profound shift in me. The support from my peers and my teachers made me feel like I was seen for the first time and felt enough just being myself. I was emboldened to embrace authenticity as my guiding principle.

That was a very crucial lesson for me because in acting, the imposter syndrome can kick in at any time and at any level without any warning.

But my best works were always, when I showed up as myself. I believe that’s how I booked my first Nationwide commercial for the Republic of Singapore Navy. In the audition, I did exactly how I, U.S. Praveen, would have behaved if I were in these circumstances. And thank god I did, because the commercial went on to show in theatres before movies started and was used also as the Singapore Navy’s recruitment video for 2 years.

From there, the top talent management agency in Singapore took notice of that Navy advertisement and I went on to sign with them. We achieved a lot together, catalyzing a flourishing career across South East Asia and internationally.

When I was cast as a series regular in “Vetta 5”, a national television show for the biggest media channel in Singapore, Mediacorp Vasantham, I navigated tests of self-belief and authenticity while I was on set on the daily.

Everyday, I was shooting scenes with people who I have idolised growing up and it could have been easy to ‘lose myself’ in their star power.

However, I reminded myself that the show-runners loved what I did in the auditions which was why they brought me on the show in the first place, knowing that I will deliver.

That liberated me and steadfastly anchored my intrinsic worth and creative vision. I remember going up to them suggesting a thing or two and they were excited to collaborate like true artists. I’m sure it turned out wonderfully because, this not only secured critical acclaim for the show “Vettai 5”, but also earned it a nomination for Best Drama Series at the prestigious Pradana Vizha (think Emmy) 2022.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://uspraveenuolsrc.wixsite.com/usp-site
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/prabeenus/