Despite her Bollywood-superstar status and a huge global following, Priyanka Chopra is far from a household name to western audiences.
That's about to change, thanks to her starring role at the heart of the new American TV crime thriller Quantico, which begins on OSN this Monday.
With high hopes for the ABC thriller, which features her first major role outside of India and her TV debut, 33-year-old Chopra is poised to be America’s next breakout star. As the main character, she has been the face of the promotional campaign in major US cities, featuring prominently on billboards.
She portrays Alex Parrish, one of a diverse group of recruits who arrive at the FBI’s Quantico Base in Virginia to begin their training. They are among the best, the brightest and the most carefully vetted of law-enforcement recruits – so it seems unthinkable when a flash-forward reveals that one of them is suspected to be one of the masterminds behind the biggest terrorist attack on American soil since 9/11.
One of Bollywood's most respected – and highest-paid – actresses and singers, Chopra has always been bold, creative and fearless in her movie roles and career choices, never content to ride on her laurels. The former Miss World (crowned in 2000) made a powerful first impression in a pink Victoria Beckham sheath dress, with Louboutin pumps, when she met US television critics in Los Angeles last month to talk about Quantico.
“I’m a huge fan of American TV – it feels like the golden phase of TV,” says the 33-year-old. “I wanted to be part of that revolution. And, the only thing I said to ABC was that I wanted to do a show that gave me the respect of being an actor, instead of casting me for the colour of my skin or what I look like.”
She trained with real FBI agents while researching the role, to learn how to correctly portray their activities and methods.
"After being in movies for 13 years in India, I'm suddenly a debutante all over again," she told The New York Times. "I'm scared and nervous – petrified, actually."
Adding to the challenge is the time-shifting nature of Quantico, whose writers were inspired by Lost's flashbacks and flashforwards. As a result, the first season shifts between two time periods: the group's time as trainees and a near future, after the attack on New York City. Her co-stars include: Aunjanue Ellis (The Help) as Miranda Shaw, assistant director of the FBI Academy; Josh Hopkins (Cougar Town) as Special Agent Liam O'Connor; and Jake McLaughlin, Tate Ellington, Graham Rogers, Johanna Braddy and Yasmine Al Masri as Alex's fellow FBI recruits.
Chopra admits to being a binge-viewer of US TV shows such as Castle, Scandal, Grey's Anatomy and Revenge, often during hair and make-up sessions or breaks in filming on her Indian movies.
So what motivated her to give the telly a try for herself?
“I was doing a masterclass with Kevin Spacey a couple of years ago – he’s one of those actors who has done TV, movies and theatre – I asked him what he finds more fascinating. And he said ‘television’ ... [his words] keep coming back to me.”
• Quantico begins at 10pm on Monday on OSN First HD
Read Weekend tomorrow for a profile of Priyanka Chopra, this week’s Newsmaker
