Ambika Mod says the 'glass ceiling is always getting higher' for South Asian actors

Published13 minutes ago

An overworked junior doctor, an aspiring writer and now a ruthless assassin.

Ambika Mod's TV credits are becoming as diverse as the roles are complex.

The actress broke through as the overwhelmed Shruti in BBC medical drama This Is Going To Hurt in 2022, and gained wide recognition for her starring role as Emma Morley in Netflix's miniseries adaptation of David Nicholls' bestselling novel One Day.

Mod, who joins the cast of Black Doves for the second season of the streamer's spy thriller, tells BBC Newsbeat she is careful about the roles she takes on.

As the daughter of Indian immigrants the 31-year-old, from Hatfield, says a "central tenet" of her work is to "change how South Asian women are seen on-screen and the characters that we are seen in".

She has previously spoken about not having access to the same "privilege", external some of her fellow actors do when it comes to roles.

Fans have questioned why she hasn't gone on to appear in as many roles as her One Day co-star Leo Woodall, who's since appeared in major films including Bridget Jones: Mad About the Boy and A24's Anthony Bourdain biopic, Tony.

Addressing this remark, Mod tells Newsbeat she thinks "there's definitely an issue in this industry with systemic racism".

"I think it is really hard for South Asian actors to really push through.

"I feel like the glass ceiling is always getting higher and higher and higher."

A report from the Creative Diversity Network, external suggested that representation of minority ethnic groups on and off-screen dropped slightly last year, after a few years of improvement.

And similar research from media watchdog Ofcom , externalfound people from certain backgrounds are less well-represented across the UK broadcasting industry.

It said "people from minority ethnic groups (across the industry as a whole) only account for 11% of those in senior management roles".

It also found under-representation in creative, production and on-screen roles.

Mod says she doesn't know if on-screen representation is changing, but says she "won't engage" with a role if she thinks its tokenistic or stereotypical.

"I've been very, very lucky in my career so far from very early on to play really complex, meaty roles and to have changed the narrative in many ways," she says.

"And I'm not looking to regress."

And when it comes to considering what to take on next, she says she tries to follow advice Dame Emma Thompson once gave her: "There's no such thing as a career, there's only what you do next."

"I'm always just trying to focus on what the new challenging thing is going to be, or cool people that I want to work with," she says.

"And also what's going to be fun, as well."

Her latest role as Laila, a lawless agent of the covert Black Doves, attracted her as it subverted a lot of espionage genre tropes.

The character is introduced in season two to assist Keira Knightley's agent Helen on a mission as the stakes get even higher for those working with the secretive organisation.

Mod says it was "such a good time" working alongside Knightley and getting to do some extreme stunt sequences together.

"Honestly, the main reason I wanted to do it was because of all the stunts," she says.

"Really badass but it was so much fun.

"It was just so fun to take down an absolutely staggering number of men in every single episode."

The thriller also has a dark humour to it, which aligns well with Mod who often brings a dry wit to her characters.

Her comedic career goes back to when she was about 18, and while studying at Durham University she was part of its sketch comedy group.

Despite having not done stand-up for about five years, she says she would "love" to do more comedy in the future.

"I do sometimes think about going back to it," she reveals.

"I have a lot of stories to tell."

Listen to Newsbeat live at 12:45 and 17:45 weekdays - or listen back here.

Related topics

Racism

Television

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