Biography
Rajeev Varma is an actor, writer, producer, director, voice over artist, casting assistant, educator, son, brother and loving husband to his US-born wife. He immigrated to America in 2006 from New Zealand and now has US Citizenship and is a member of SAG/AFTRA and EQUITY. In May 2014 he wrapped five weeks shooting 10 Episodes of a new FOX/StarPlus sitcom called Brown Nation as the lead character Hasmukh. He has been cast in Roundabout Theater Company's 2014 Fall production of Indian Ink by Tom Stoppard, which will also run at the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco in early 2015. Cary Perloff, Artistic Director of A.C.T., will direct the production. Rajeev Varma graduated with a Diploma in Acting from The Unitec School of Performing and Screen Arts in Auckland, New Zealand, in 1995. Upon graduation he created his first theater company, The Rising Generation Theatre Company, through which he produced and acted in Play Lunch, Spies Spy or Die and Versus, all written by Toa Fraser. He produced the premiere season of Bare by Toa Fraser and also produced, acted, devised and starred in Look Me In The Eye, at the Silo Theater, Auckland in 1999. In the nineties Raj worked in the NZ Film and Television Industry. Credits include: Xena: Warrior Princess, Young Hercules, Hercules, Cleopatra 2525, Letter to Blanchy, Shortland Street, Asia Down Under, P.E.T. Detectives, Serial Killers, The Mike King Show, Some of My Best Friends Are...Indian, B & B and Burying Brian. Raj worked his way up the industry ladder, going from small bit parts to larger character roles and eventually to lead roles over an eighteen-year period. He ultimately booked the role of Ganesh in a 13 episode prime time thriller/comedy for TV3 in New Zealand entitled The Blue Rose. The show shot for five months in 2012. The Blue Rose won a Bronze World Medal for Best Drama at the 2014 New York International Film and Television Awards in Las Vegas. Raj walked the red carpet with his co-stars from the show and accepted on behalf of South Pacific Pictures. From 2000-2002, Rajeev was a core member of the improvisation comedy troupe The Improv Bandits. In 2003, he toured with them to the Melbourne Comedy Festival. As a core member Raj performed most Friday nights at the Silo Theater in Auckland for two years. In 2003, he created his second theater company, The Untouchables Collective, New Zealand's first South-Asian theatre company with 19 actors, writers and designers. The Collective premiered its first production,Yatra, at the Wellington Fringe Festival 2004, to great acclaim. From 2003 onwards, he created his third theater company; Those Indian Guys, with New Zealand comedian Tarun Mohanbhai. Those Indian Guys toured extensively with their critically acclaimed solo show D'Arranged Marriage and two-hander From India with Love, to Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, Canada and South Africa between 2003 and 2012. Those Indian Guys forged a name for themselves in New Zealand as the face of South Asian comedy and Rajeev won national recognition in New Zealand appearing on numerous talk shows, magazines, newspapers and comedy specials. In 2004 he shot 1nite, an independent feature film in which he played a troubled Sheikh taxi driver. Raj immersed himself in Sheikh culture and shadowed Auckland taxi drivers for the role and spent 6 months growing a beard in preparation. In 2007, Rajeev starred in two prime time comedy shows for TV3 in New Zealand: The Millen Baird Show and A Thousand Apologies. The Millen Baird Show was nominated for Best Comedy Program in the 2009 Qantas Film and TV Awards in New Zealand. 1000 Apologies is groundbreaking New Zealand Television: the first prime time sketch comedy show in the nation that focused on the Asian and South Asian experience. Raj played over 20 characters during the six-week shoot. In 2009, Raj was featured on Close Up on TVNZ. The interview documented his new life in New York as a New Zealand artist taking on the Big Apple. In 2011 Rajeev shot Vindaloo Empire, a NZ feature film, in which he played Sheikh. In March 2011, Raj performed D'Arranged Marriage in Ontario, Canada at the Richmond Hill Performing Arts Center. He also performed for a fifth return season of the show in May 2012 in Kuala Lumpur with Gardner and Wife Theater Company. Since arriving in New York Raj has steadily increased his profile. He played Alex in Summertime. A feature film directed by Max Weissberg and produced by Luftmenschfilms. He was also spotted by comedian Paul Mercurio and cast as Brian the Call Center Operator in the HBO.com web series Got No Game with Paul Mercurio. Selected Stage highlights include: New Zealand: Peter in The Diary of Anne Frank. The New Zealand national tour of The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged). Puck in A Midsummer Nights Dream. Le Beau in As You Like It. Rajesh in The Taro King. Taki Rua's production of Awhi Tapu by Albert Belz. (Nomination for "Best Supporting Actor" at the 2003 Chapman Tripp Theatre Awards for his portrayal of Casper.) United States: Elephant in Aryavana Flies or A Pretty Dish by Sheila Callaghan. (Winner Samuel French Short Play Competition 2008.) Directed by David A. Miller. The Developer by Marcus Haupt. Brooklyn Playwrights Collective's Annual Festival of New Plays 2008. Directed by Melissa Fendell. Khalil in Barriers by Rehana Mizra. H.E.R.E Arts Center, NYC. 2011 One out of Ten, by L. Vasiliou, translated from Greek by A. Stathaki. (Midwinter Madness Festival 2012, NYC). Directed by Aktina Stathaki. (Winner: Best Actor at the Festival 2012.) In 2009, Rajeev produced and performed in a five month sold out run of D'Arranged Marriage at the Huron Club at the Soho Playhouse. D'Arranged Marriage then transferred Off-Broadway to the Triad NYC where it sold out and ran for a three-month extension till the end of December 2010. D'Arranged Marriage has also been performed in Cleveland, New Jersey, Queens and Los Angeles. Directing credits include: Painted Lips by Katherine Van Beek at the 2001 Wellington Fringe Festival. Rajeev facilitated 3rd year graduating students' solo shows at Toi Whakaari, New Zealand's National School of Drama, working alongside Jude Gibson in 2003. Raj is an accomplished solo performer. In D'Arranged Marriage, which has been touring for over ten years, Raj plays eight characters at rapid fire pace. He used this performance experience to direct Melting in Madras, performed by H.R. Britton as part of the 2009 Frigid Festival in New York, and also co-directed the solo show Dark Stars by Arthur Meek for the United Solo Festival in NYC in 2013. Voice Over credits include: Big Love Voice Over Promo for HBO, directed by Peter Feldman. The Philanthropist Loop Group for NBC with Sondra James Casting The Narrator in the audio book of The Shadow Lines by Amitav Ghosh. A preview and purchase is available at audible.com.
