Youth Impact Report 2012: Up Next

Helmer Ang Lee auditioned more than 3,000 young men from all over India for the lead role of Fox’s “Life of Pi” before he reached Suraj Sharma. The South Delhi native, who celebrated his 18th birthday on the set of the film, has as his background some training in Hindustani music and karate, but no acting experience to speak of.

On performing his debut role opposite a computer-generated co-star — a virtual tiger on a cramped boat in the middle of an outdoor wave tank in Taiwan no less — Sharma says, “Well, this was my first time acting, so I can’t really compare it to acting with something else.”

The challenge aside, Lee made sure Sharma clocked in plenty of time observing the behavior of tigers to internalize their mannerisms, giving him a mental catalog of their reactions to work off. Though he has no follow-up acting projects booked just yet, Sharma does have plans for the future: He would like to study film at New York U.’s Tisch School of the Arts after he graduates from the philosophy program at his current university in India.

Popular on Variety

Return to the Youth Impact Report 2012 >>

Read More About:

• Andy Johns,
• Suraj Sharma

Jump to Comments

More from Variety

• 

  Australia Proposing to Ban Children From Social Media, Joins Wave of Asian Government Crackdowns on Platforms
• 

  Hollywood’s Next Superhero: Purpose-Led Branding  
• 

  Meta Announces Ban on Russian State Media, Citing Deceptive Influence Operations
• 

  ‘Beetlejuice Beetlejuice’ Success Doesn’t Downplay Risky Reboots Coming to Theaters

Most Popular

• Luke Bryan Reacts to Beyoncé’s CMA Awards Snub: ‘If You’re Gonna Make Country Albums, Come Into Our World and Be Country With…

  

• Donald Glover Cancels 2024 Childish Gambino Tour Dates After Hospitalization: ‘I Have Surgery Scheduled and Need Time Out to Heal’

  

• ‘Joker 2’ Ending: Was That a ‘Dark Knight’ Connection? Explaining What’s Next for Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker

  

• ‘Love Is Blind' Creator Reveals Why They Didn’t Follow Leo and Brittany After Pods, if They'll Be at Reunion (EXCLUSIVE)

  

• Rosie O'Donnell on Becoming a 'Big Sister' to the Menendez Brothers, Believes They Could Be Released From Prison in the ‘Next 30 Days’

  

• Coldplay’s Chris Martin Says Playing With Michael J. Fox at Glastonbury Was ‘So Trippy’: ‘Like Being 7 and Being in Heaven…

  

• ‘That ’90s Show’ Canceled After Two Seasons on Netflix, Kurtwood Smith Says: ‘We Will Shop the Show’

  

• Why Critically Panned ‘Joker 2’ Could Still Be in the Awards Race for Lady Gaga and Joaquin Phoenix

  

• Dakota Fanning Got Asked ‘Super-Inappropriate Questions’ as a Child Actor Like ‘How Could You Have Any Friends?’ and Can ‘You Avoid Being a Tabloid…

  

• Charli XCX Reveals Features for ‘Brat’ Remix Album Include Ariana Grande, Julian Casablancas, Tinashe and More

  

Must Read

• Film

  COVER | Sebastian Stan Tells All: Becoming Donald Trump and Starring in 2024’s Most Controversial Movie

  By Andrew Wallenstein 2 weeks

• TV

  Menendez Family Slams Netflix’s ‘Monsters’ as ‘Grotesque’ and ‘Riddled With Mistruths’: ‘The Character Assassination of Erik and Lyke Is Repulsive…

  
• TV

  ‘Yellowstone’ Season 5 Part 2 to Air on CBS After Paramount Network Debut

  
• TV

  50 Cent Sets Diddy Abuse Allegations Docuseries at Netflix: ‘It’s a Complex Narrative Spanning Decades’ (EXCLUSIVE)

  
• Shopping

  ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ Sets Digital and Blu-ray/DVD Release Dates

  

Sign Up for Variety Newsletters

By providing your information, you agree to our Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy.We use vendors that may also process your information to help provide our services. // This site is protected by reCAPTCHA Enterprise and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Variety Confidential

A Variety and iHeartRadio Podcast

ncG1vNJzZmiukae2psDYZ5qopV9nfXJ%2Bjp%2BgpaVfo7K4v46srKuZmmLAqa3RpphmqJliva2t2J6pZmlhZoVxgZdxbnBn