MB: That article I mentioned before said you're in a kind of trifecta with Naveen Andrews and Sendhil Ramamurthy. Is that something you think about?
MP: I'm somewhat cognizant of it. I think the community is growing exponentially. I think there's a healthy sense of competition, but people are also really supportive. I get emails about auditions from people, like, "Did you hear about this?" And it's great, because as it continues to grow, it forces you to be on your game more and not just assume that because you're Indian you're going to get to play the next Indian part.
MB: That sounds nice. Like having a sort of family in the big, scary world of acting.
MP: It depends on the type of community you create for yourself. Because there are certainly competitive, cutthroat actors out there.
MB: Can you name six of them? And then say nasty things about them?
MP: I have a list in my pocket right here! People I would never want to see at an audition…
MB: Awesome! So juicy!
MP: But, yeah...I think you can create a community where it's not about that. And because I'm different from a lot of actors I know, it erases a lot of the sense of competition. Like, from all the people I went to grad school with, there's very few that I compete with at an audition.
MB: Do you feel like you've got friendships that have come out of your various projects?
MP: Definitely. And not just the cast. Crew crosses over a lot, especially in New York, where the community is just a lot smaller. I just did this film 27 Dresses with Katherine Heigl and James Marsden, and a guy from 30 Rock came it to work for a day on it, and it's like, "Oh my god!" And you just start to see people's names. Last night, a friend of mine had the DVD of this series that was on the WB for a year called Grosse Pointe, and we were watching the end credits and I was like, "Oh my god, I know that editor!" And with Weeds, it's our third year now. It's like going back to school after taking the summer off. Mary-Louise [Parker] threw this really nice dinner for the cast last week, and it was a great opportunity to hang out at a fancy restaurant and drink wine.