Asha is quite stunning!

October 28, 2010, 8:00 PM ET
‘Outsourced’ Star Rebecca Hazlewood on Working as a British Actress of Indian Descent
by Michelle Kung



In tonight’s Halloween-themed episode of “Outsourced,” Rebecca Hazlewood’s Indian call center employee Asha gets in the holiday spirit by dressing as Cleopatra for her American boss’ party. Though the British actress enjoyed dressing up as the Egyptian queen, she admits the experience didn’t align with her experiences with the holiday growing up in the UK.

“In England, you’ll dress up and universities will have a Halloween ball. it’s based on the tradition of the night of the dead, the hallowed evening, all that, and you dress as something scary,” she says. “Here you just dress as something you enjoy. It’s quite fun.”

We spoke to Hazlewood, who’s been based out of L.A. for the past three years, about her experiences working as an actress of Indian descent in Hollywood.

Thanks to the success of “Slumdog Millionaire,” it seems as if there are more roles for Indian and Indian-American actors nowadays. What attracted you to “Outsourced” in particular?

Definitely this year, there was a dramatic increase of East Indian roles… With “Outsourced,” I thought it was an incredibly interesting idea, and that the writers had taken steps to base the story on a different culture, and that was something that really appealed to me.

What advice were you given when you made the transition from working in the UK to the U.S.?

When I first came here, I was more of a novelty, because not only was I Indian, but I had a British accent and a British career behind me. But I was told to just be myself and I’d be fine.

How would you compare the casting process in the U.S. versus the UK?

I think it’s more color blind in the UK because Britain and India have had a long historical relationship. In particular, in the 1960s, South Asians had a huge influence on the country. In Britain, writers will certainly write for a certain Indian actor in mind — not to say it’s a token role, but generally, in England, things are a couple years ahead. It’s startling how mixed it is in London.

How do you respond to critics who think ‘Outsourced’ is reinforcing ethnic stereotypes?

If anything, the show challenges stereotypes. It demonstrates that you can go anywhere in the world and all people can relate to certain situations, which is more of what the show is about. Plus, you’re going to get stereotypes in any kind or drama. The way we do the show is very different — in the way it’s been cast, in the way it looks, and its themes. We’re exploring a whole host of issues; for example, we’re going to have a diwali episode, and one with a monsoon.

How many Indian or Indian-American writers are there on the show?

It is quite a collective show — we have a very strong team of writers, and the show has been scripted for 13 episodes, which is what we were originally committed to do. About a third of the writers are Indian.