Meet Ary Satish | Stage & Screen Actor

We had the good fortune of connecting with Ary Satish and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Ary, what was your thought process behind starting your own business?
In my case, as an actor, my business is my brand and my brand is myself. So when I first knew that acting was the career for me, it became clear – through observing what other up-and-coming actors were doing – that I first needed to brand myself as “Ary, the actor”. Let people know that yes this is still “Ary, the person”, but also now show the new brand of “Ary, the actor.”

After that, I pretty much approached it like two sides of a coin. One side’s approach being conducting the same business process that most businesses start out with, and on the other side of the coin, conducting the same process that most freelance actors start out with. On the typical business side of this, my own version was to: Conduct market research , writing out a business plan, funding my business, picking my business location, choosing a business structure, choosing a business name, etc. Market research for me, was mainly just to see where there was a desire for service (New York being what I chose out of the many cities) and how many people would be interested in my services (which in my case, would be casting directors and agents, which New York had a ton of.) Along with this, my business plan included monthly and year goals for myself, and funding included how I would be making money both through acting and outside of it. Location came with research on the top Drama colleges in the world, out of which NYU was a dream school at that time for me.

On the typical actor side of this, I applied and got accepted to NYU Tisch Drama to take college courses, dipped into local acting classes, continued to perform in theater shows wherever I could, meet and talk to established actors, sign up for workshops and scene study classes, find acting teachers, get a headshot, learn and practice how to audition and so on.

And that was the start!

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I’ll start with my art. As an actor, my work is seen primarily through the screen, when it is on film, and on the stage, when it is theater. I’m a performer, and as an actor, my work is to take on the role, persona and essence of a specific character I am playing and organically, behave truthfully as that character, under imaginary circumstances. As a multilingual, multi-hyphenate artist known for portraying vulnerable male characters – vulnerable here can mean an array of things – I would say I care most about bringing an international perspective on storytelling and break the geographical barriers of film by bringing a newfound energy to roles portrayed by actors of color.

In doing so, I’ve chosen film and theater primarily, as being the mediums by which I can do so… and get paid for it. As far as the work I’ve done, some of the films I’ve appeared in, include, “Natural History” (2018), “Rick Rickter” (2020), “Arcane Headshots” (2022), “Teddy Ruxpin” (2022), “American Weasel” (2022), “Take Care” (2022), “Model Minority” (2023), “I Can’t Live Here Anymore” (2023). I have also been featured in recording artist Mia Gladstone’s official music video, “FOOD” (2020), recording artist Sean Leach’s official music video, “OutWithOut” (feat. Daleela) and indie band “The Yesters” official music video, “Kingston City Morgue”. I’ve also appeared in commercials for Markup, NYU Langone Health and the 5&Go App. I theatre, most recently, I’ve performed in NYC for the staged play, “Dancing At Lughnasa”, during the pandemic.

I would say what sets me apart from others, would firstly be my upbringing as a person and as an actor. I was first born in Kerala, India, and am a proud Malayali. However, while growing up, my family and I moved from Kerala to Bangalore, India, then overseas to Boston, Massachusetts, then Tampa, Florida, then to Dallas, Texas, then back overseas to Bangalore, India once again, then overseas again to Colombo, Sri Lanka, after which I flew over to New York City for college, where I’ve been based ever since. Because of the relocations every few years and attending international schools almost the entire time, I’d gotten a chance to take in a lot of cultures, see different parts of the world and grow up with people from almost every country. It gave me a lot of perspective, understanding and the ability to adapt quickly. It also showed me, that in a world where so many things can come and go so quickly, really stay loyal to the things you hold on to. This has definitely shaped my work in even just being an actor, because I know it’s a career I won’t stop working and growing in, throughout the rest of my life. It’s also given me so many wild and unique experiences, which have been so valuable to have in my pocket as an actor, whose job is to be put in experiences they normally wouldn’t find themselves in anyways. I’m proud of my upbringing, because it’s made me the person I am today.

How I got to where I am today professionally, first started with applying and being accepted to New York University’s, Tisch School of the Arts, where I earning my bachelor of fine arts degree with a major in Drama and a double minor in Producing and Entertainment Business at the NYU Stern School of Business. There, I was actor-trained at The Meisner Studio and Stonestreet Studios, where I trained specifically in the Meisner acting technique, stage combat, clown, improvisational comedy and the Williamson technique, among others, and am a proud Meisner actor. It’s something I always bring into my work even today. I graduated from there being well equipped with the tools I needed to sustain a work life in the industry. From there, is where I continued acting in film, theater and commercials, learning so much along the way, I might need to tell you another time! But ultimately, what I want people to know about my brand and story, is that: My name is Ary Satish, I’m an actor and I’m here to stay. I’m here to act in the top films, television roles, theatre roles and more, and I’m just a person that’s working to live out their dream.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Oh man, now these are the right questions! Okay, if a friend was visiting, I’d of course first ask them what kinds of places they’re interested in seeing, like whether they’re into museums, food, landmarks, hidden gems, best bars in the city, etc! So I’d tell them my favorite places and then see where we’d go! My one most favorite in the city however, is East River Park, by the water. Since my first year in NYC, I’d go down there by the water and the walk path, put music in, ride a citybike and just forget about everything else in the world. It’s the most peaceful, beautiful, and sentimental spot in the city for me.

Other than that, let’s talk food! You CAN’T go wrong with Chinatown and my favorite places there are “Tasty Hand-Pulled Noodles” on the historic Doyer’s Street. Like literally ON the street, and has some of the best food and chilli paste you will ever eat. They also have a fun arcade close by to just go destroy your friend at a game of air hockey at. Outside of that, MUD is my favorite cafe (East Village is becoming a theme) and Chili Meili and John’s Pizza are must eats when in NYC.

Top other spots include Pier 45 on the Hudson River. Just go lay down in the grassy park over there in the summer and fall asleep. 10/10 feeling. I absolutely love comedy shows, so The Comedy Cellar is perfect for a late night finisher, 212 Hisae’s has great drinks, The High Line is a perfect date spot, and the best, I “can’t believe I’m in NYC” spot is the Met Cloisters. It’s a literal castle.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
The biggest shoutout goes to my parents. They were the first ones to believe in me going after my dream to be an actor, and have supported me every step of the way, in every way they knew how to. I love you. Every award I win will always be split between you two, Kalyani and myself.

Website: www.arysatish.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/arysatish_/

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/arysatish/

Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@arysatish2269

Other: IMDB: imdb.me/arysatish (for all film related things!)

Image Credits
Vidhi Thakur Photography Getty Images Julianna McGuirl Photography