Actor Rudi Dharmalingam showed a creative spark from a young age. From writing short stories and sketches with his two best friends while growing up, to attending the National Youth Theatre in the U.K. at the age of 16, Rudi excelled in his drama studies and had a fascination with performance.

After graduating from the University of Salford, Rudi was ready to hit the ground running. He had his sights set on working as a professional actor in theater and had secured an agent during his first year at university. Today, Rudi shares the experience of being dropped by his agent after a terrifying accident on the way to his first audition and how he was able to push through the years of auditioning that followed. After booking an understudy role in the Royal National Theatre's London stage production of "The History Boys," Rudi began to see some momentum in his career. Since then, Rudi experienced a 15 year back-to-back run of theater productions including a West End run of "Mary Stuart," and a co-star role in "Hamlet" opposite Benedict Cumberbatch at the Barbican Theatre.

After deciding that he was ready for a new adventure on the big screen, Rudi has now gracefully pivoted into the world of film and television with the premiere of Showtime's newest drama series, "Wakefield." Starring as psych ward nurse Nik Katira, this psychological drama explores the complexities of mental health when Nik himself begins to lose connection to his own reality. Rudi will also be returning in season 3 of "The Split," and can be seen in the upcoming 2022 release of the action-thriller series, "Extinction."

Today, Rudi shares that what he loves most about acting is the intimacy. He dives into how that intimacy manifests itself differently in theater versus on screen, and he shares the ways in which he approaches character building from a place of instinct. Inspired by artistic legends such as Robert De Niro, Daniel Day-Lewis, and following the teaching principles of Stanislavski, Rudi encourages all actors to think of a self-tape as a short film and to go above and beyond the line of duty when it comes to an audition.

These are the unforgettable stories that landed Rudi Dharmalingam right here.

Guest links:

• IMDB: Rudi Dharmalingam
• BARNES & NOBLE: An Actor Prepares / Edition 1

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