Ajay Naidu

Ajay Kalahastri Naidu (born February 12, 1972) is an American actor.

Early life and education
Naidu was born in Evanston, Illinois. His parents came from India to the United States in 1964.[1] He attended Evanston Township High School. He trained with the American Repertory Theater's Institute for Advanced Theater Training at Harvard University.[1]

Career
Naidu's first professional acting job was the film Touch and Go (released in 1986) which he won from an open call. He starred in the TV movie, Lady Blue(1985) as Paquito. This was followed by an ABC Afterschool Special episode, "No Greater Gift" (1985), where he played Nick Santana, a 12-year-old boy with a terminal illness. Naidu then appeared in the MacGyver TV series' first-season episode, "To Be a Man" in 1986.

Other film credits when younger include Where the River Runs Black (1986) and Vice Versa (1988). Between 1988 and 1995 he worked extensively in classical theatre.

Naidu returned to film acting in SubUrbia in 1996.

On screen, Naidu starred in the cult film Office Space, as well as appearing in films such as K-Pax, Subway Stories, π, Requiem for a Dream, Bad Santa, The War Within, The Guru, Waterborne, and Loins of Punjab Presents. He co-starred as a series regular in the sitcom LateLine and had guest starring roles on the television dramas The Sopranos, The West Wing and Bored to Death.

Naidu has been working extensively with musicians from the Asian underground music movement for many years as a dancer and an M.C. His vocals have appeared on many records, most notably Talvin Singh's mercury award winner "OK".

In 2006, Naidu directed his first feature film Ashes which had its release in 2010 and for which he won Best Actor accolades from the MIACC Film Festival in New York and the London Asian Film Festival. In 2009, he played as ACO Jake in Hotel For Dogs.

Naidu's most recent theatre credits include The Master and Margarita with Complicite, a world tour of Shakespeare's Measure for Measure with Complicite, The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui alongside Al Pacino, directed by Simon McBurney and The Little Flower of East Orange alongside Ellyn Burstyn at New York's Public Theater directed by Philip Seymour Hoffman.[2] In 2001 Naidu's solo theatre piece Darwaza was a sold-out hit at New York's Labyrinth Theatre.

Personal life
Naidu is married to actress Heather Burns.[3]

Filmography
2019 Billions (TV Series) Kulbinder Darcha

- Arousal Template (2019) ... Kulbinder Darcha

2018 God Friended Me (TV Series) Eric

- The Good Samaritan (2018) ... Eric

2018 Boy Boy Girl Girl (Short)

2016-2018 Blindspot (TV Series) Shohid Akhtar / Shohid Ahktar

- Warning Shot (2018) ... Shohid Akhtar

- One Begets Technique (2016) ... Shohid Ahktar

2018 The Kindergarten Teacher Nikhil Roy

2017 Friends from College (TV Series) Howie Wexler

- Second Wedding (2017) ... Howie Wexler

2017 Crazy Famous Dr. Manning

2017 Lost Cat Corona Amir

2016 World's End (TV Movie) Karl

2016 Odd Mom Out (TV Series) Doctor

- 40 Is the New 70 (2016) ... Doctor

2014 The Future of Dough (Short) Bob

2014 Manhattan Love Story (TV Series) Brian

- Pilot (2014) ... Brian

2014 Deadbeat (TV Series) Attendant / The Taxi Man

- Pieces of Sue (2014) ... Attendant

- The Sexorcism (2014) ... The Taxi Man

2013 Gods Behaving Badly The Producer

2012 3 Days of Normal Vik Donowitz

2011 Mister Handsome (Short) Mister Handsome

2010 Bored to Death (TV Series) Vikram

- Escape from the Castle! (2010) ... Vikram

- Forty-Two Down! (2010) ... Vikram

2010/I Ashes Ashes

2010 Futurestates (TV Series) Rakesh

- Pia (2010) ... Rakesh

2009 Cop House (TV Movie) Skip Malhotra

2009 Today's Special Munnamia

2009 Mercy (TV Series) Matt

- Pulling the Goalie (2009) ... Matt

2009 Falling Up Paco

2009 Kings (TV Series) Dr. Nayar

- Judgment Day (2009) ... Dr. Nayar

- First Night (2009) ... Dr. Nayar

2009 30 Rock (TV Series) Asif

- Larry King (2009) ... Asif

2009 Stream (Short) Kyle

2009 The Hungry Ghosts Laurence

2009 Hotel for Dogs ACO Jake

2008 Strokes (TV Movie) Sanjay Lall

2008 Righteous Kill Dr. Chadrabar

2008 The Wrestler Medic

2008 The Accidental Husband Deep

2007 Loins of Punjab Presents Turbanotorious B.D.G.

2006 Hiding Divya Divya's husband

2005 Perception Kamal

2005 Confess Account Executive

2005 The War Within Naved

2005 The Honeymooners Vivek

2005 Tools of War (Short) Rahul

2005 Scooby-Doo in Where's My Mummy? (Video) Prince Omar (voice)

2005 Alchemy Best Man

2005 Waterborne Vikram Bhatti

2005 King of the Hill (TV Series) Delivery Guy / Malik

- Mutual of Omabwah (2005) ... Delivery Guy / Malik (voice)

2005 212 Vincent

2004 The Jury (TV Series) George Edmonds

- Pilot (2004) ... George Edmonds

2004 Monk (TV Series) Masul the Cabbie

- Mr. Monk Takes Manhattan (2004) ... Masul the Cabbie

2004 Fillmore! (TV Series) Sanjay

- Field Trip of the Just (2004) ... Sanjay (voice)

2003 Bad Santa Hindustani Troublemaker

2003 Scary Movie 3 Sayaman

2003 Justice Mohammed

2002 Bomb the System Moses Mundhra

2002 The Guru Sanjay

2001 The Gene Pool (TV Movie) Paul Patel

2001 K-PAX Dr. Chakraborty

2001 The West Wing (TV Series) Rakim Ali

- Isaac and Ishmael (2001) ... Rakim Ali

2001 Hannibal Perfume Expert

2001 American Chai Hari

2000 You Are Here* Sanjay

2000 Dinner Rush Ademir the Matre'd

2000 More Dogs Than Bones Andy

2000 Requiem for a Dream Mailman

2000 The Sopranos (TV Series) Omar

- Big Girls Don't Cry (2000) ... Omar

1999 Chutney Popcorn Raju

1998-1999LateLine (TV Series) Raji Bakshi

- The Christian Guy (1999) ... Raji Bakshi

- Karp's Night Out (1999) ... Raji Bakshi

- Svadharma (1999) ... Raji Bakshi

- Kids 'N' Guns (1999) ... Raji Bakshi

- The Minister of Television (1999) ... Raji Bakshi

Show all 17 episodes

1999 Office Space Samir

1998 Shopkeeping Asif

1998 Scotch and Milk Armand

1998 My Giant Hot Dog Vendor

1998 Pi Farrouhk

1998 Montana Ives

1997 Once We Were Strangers Apu

1997 SUBWAYStories: Tales from the Underground (TV Movie) Prashant (segment "Honey-Getter")

1996 New York Undercover (TV Series) Manuel

- Brown Like Me (1996) ... Manuel

1996 SubUrbia Nazeer Choudhury

1988 Vice Versa Dale

1986 Where the River Runs Black Segundo

1986 Touch and Go Louis DeLeon

1986 MacGyver (TV Series) Ahmed

- To Be a Man (1986) ... Ahmed (uncredited)

1985 ABC Afterschool Specials (TV Series) Nick Santana

- No Greater Gift (1985) ... Nick Santana

1985 Lady Blue (TV Series) Paquito

- Pilot (1985) ... Paquito