Anjali Bhimani: The Bridge Between On-Screen Acting And Video Games
photo credit: Kelly Balch
Anjali Bhimani is well known for her versatile talent. From Broadway to on-screen acting to gaming, Bhimani has all grounds covered and exceptionally executed. Born in Cleveland, Ohio, and raised in Orange County, California, she earned a degree in theatre from Northwestern University and a certificate in musical theatre. Since graduating, the actress has performed at many theatre companies such as the Goodman, the Lookingglass Theatre Company, Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, and more. Years later, Bhimani was cast as Nina Patel in Modern Family and has been the legendary voice in many video games.
We spoke to Anjali Bhimani about her past work as well as her upcoming projects.
photo credit: Kelly Balch
Has your character Nina Patel developed through the progression of Modern Family?
“I think mostly it’s just in her overt judginess, if anything. When we first met her and her husband, they were a little snooty but still seemed relatively sweet. By the last time we saw her, in season 6, the gloves were off in the snark department.”
What was your favorite moment on set filming Modern Family?
“Ah, please don’t make me pick one! Honestly, working with everyone on set there was such a joy each time. I do have a soft spot in my heart for the first day I was on set, and I was in the hair and makeup trailer with Julie Bowen and Ty Burrell. I got to tell Ty that I had seen him in an off- Broadway production of Burn This years earlier, and he was just fantastic and got to talk to Julie about her time at Brown University and that my brother had gone there with her. I do love when I get to tell incredible, accomplished actors about loving their work, especially when it might be work that they don’t often hear people telling them. I know that when people come up to me to talk about my theatre work, I get so touched and excited, so I hoped that telling Ty about his performance gave him that joy too. They were both just the sweetest.”
How do a production crew and cast stay positive in a movie with a lot of sadness, such as the film you starred in in All My Life?
“I honestly think that sometimes it’s when you’re dealing with the most heartbreaking themes that you bond the most with a cast and crew. It depends a lot on the people helming the piece, of course – your creative team and your lead actors – and in All My Life, we had three INCREDIBLY lovely, cheerful, giving humans in those positions: Jessica Rothe and Harry Shum, our leads, and Marc Meyers, our director. They lead with light, positivity, and kindness so, when we got to the heartbreaking scenes, we were all there together as a unit. It also helps when you can bond outside of work, and we definitely all did that together in our time in beautiful New Orleans. There was much laughter and joy.”
photo credit: Kelly Balch
Do you believe true love exists?
“100%. I have it with my husband. Before I met him, I didn’t think I could find it for myself, I saw it around me in the world, so I knew it was there. Then he showed up in my life, and it was so clear. I couldn’t have run away from it had I tried (and honestly, I did for a little while), but I do believe love always conquers fear if you let it, and any fear I might have had was outweighed by the love we had together.”
What’s the process of voicing a video game character?
How much time have you got? It’s different for different kinds of games. Some are voiceovers, and some are motion capture. Some have scenes between the characters called “cutscenes,” which exist outside of gameplay; sometimes, you’re only recording in-game lines that the game will trigger by specific things happening in the game. I’ve found that the one thing I’ve found is consistent: you must be prepared to create on the spot. Because, much of the time you, won’t get the script for the recording session until you get to the recording session. So, there is a lot of give and take between the developers and sessions director in the studio. I’m very lucky that I’ve gotten to work with some of the most sensitive and talented directors in the business, like Andrea Toyias at Blizzard and Erik Kraber at Respawn. They make the recording session a very safe place to explore different options for your character. It makes it loads of fun to find the character’s voice, not just technically but emotionally, and it’s much more a joint effort and collaboration. It’s very rewarding when you get to create as part of a team like that.'
Between “Symmetra,” & “Rampart,” and “Kala,” what character has been the most complex?
“All three of them are incredibly complex, which is the beauty of it. I love that Symmetra and Rampart are both these unique, complex individuals who aren’t defined by any one part of themselves. Not their ethnicity, not their ability, nor their gender. They are the sum and product of their intriguing parts and how they have chosen to deal with their circumstances. Kala has a beautiful journey from the beginning to the end of the game. I love hearing from people who play through and experience that journey with her.”
When voicing a voice game character, are you voicing to the actual game, or does it all come together at the end?
“Usually the latter, in my experience. When I voiced Nisha for Fallout 4: Nuka World, I didn’t even have any art to know what she looked like, and I didn’t find out until the game came out. With Symmetra and Rampart, more was developed and shared with me as we were doing ongoing recordings, which meant each session was like Christmas, getting new goodies every time. I love the magic that the developers create as the process goes on; I live in awe of them.”
photo credit: Kelly Balch
Was it special attending Overwatch League on International Women’s Day?
“SO special! The women in Overwatch are such powerful, interesting, intelligent, inspirational
characters that I feel like it’s such a logical connection. Getting to talk about how much they all love the characters inspires me as a woman. Getting to be a part of inspiring other women to lead the biggest lives they can lead means the world. Plus, Overwatch League is just a blast overall; when you can be there in person, the energy is infectious. Even if I’m terrible at playing the game myself!”
There tends to be a lot of sexism and toxicity in the gaming community. How do you rise above that and sustain your status as essentially a female icon in the video game world?
“I believe that whatever you focus on and give your attention and energy to grows. So I choose to focus on and amplify and nurture the other things in the gaming community that I think are beautiful. It’s not denial, I know the darker sides are there, but I also know that whatever you feed grows. So, I feed into and revel in the supportive, excited, inclusive energies I see out there. My whole web series, I Am Fun Size, came out of that. I wanted to encourage and support these incredibly artistic, generous, talented humans in the community. They are so giving of their hearts and talents but also might be struggling with their own challenges. I want them to know they are not alone and that they are heard, and that no matter how small you might feel at any moment, someone is listening and rooting for you. THAT’S the energy I want to feed, nurture, and watch grow into something more powerful.”
Between S.W.A.T, Blindspot, Little Voice, Alex, Inc, which show turned out to be the most difficult?
“Honestly, the only thing I’ve found difficult about almost all of my acting jobs is that when they end, I don’t want them to. I have had such a wonderful time connecting with so many casts and crews – whether for one day or months – and I’ve found that even the most challenging acting jobs feel wildly rewarding and energizing at the moment. I also tend to lean in when things are difficult – I rather enjoy feeling uncomfortable or scared or off-balance in a way when I’m working because I think that unpredictability breeds unexpected moments. Those can be the very things that elevate a performance. I would say it’s not that the jobs are challenging; it’s my sneaky demons that may come out to play when I’m creating – the voices in my head that want to make me second guess myself or doubt myself. I’ve become a bit of a ninja at silencing them because they can be so loud if you don’t check those thoughts right away. And they are never actually helpful. Never.”
Is filming for film and TV more intimate than Broadway
“It’s a different kind of intimacy. Having a camera right in your face means you can have quiet, connected moments with your co-stars, and that provides the opportunity for one kind of powerful intimacy in performance. You aren’t so connected with the audience because they aren’t part of the equation yet. When you’re doing theatre, you have a very intimate connection with the audience. At least I feel you do. There’s this unspoken agreement you have where the audience must agree to suspend their disbelief for the time they are in the theatre, and we actors must agree we will do the heavy emotional lifting for them. It’s a beautiful silent pact you have in that sacred space. And without it, things fall flat, but with it, you can just FEEL the electricity in the room. When you know everyone in the theatre – both in the audience and onstage – is breathing together.”
How did “I Am Fun Size” come about?
As I mentioned before, it was a love letter to the online community that was generous and giving of themselves. I knew I wanted to do something to be of more service than just through my performances, and the one thing I have to offer that no one else could share is me – my life experiences and how I’ve navigated them to varying degrees of success. I wanted to show everyone that we are all “fun size” – we are all built for fun, huge, beautiful lives. Sometimes though, we have challenges in our lives that make us feel small or unseen or any number of things that keep us from focusing on that huge life. So, I just basically offered myself up to them and said, “Ask me about life and let’s do this together.” Not as an expert of any kind, but just as a fellow human figuring it out along with everyone else.
photo credit: Kelly Balch
Who has been your favorite guest? Who would be your dream guest?
“Oh, that’s IMPOSSIBLE to pick!!!! One of my favorite episodes was early on with my dear friend Jen Cohn from Overwatch. We actually filmed it the first day we met, and she dropped some wisdom bombs that I still share and use to this day. As far as dream guests, I mean, I like to dream big, so let’s go: Arianna Huffington, Michelle and Barack Obama, Oprah, Jay Shetty, and Ben Greenfield. I mean, I could go on and on!”
What’s challenging about bringing a script to life?
“Making sure that all the ideas I bring to the table serve the story and vision of the writer and the creative team while being authentic to my vision of what a character and story are. I always want to serve their vision, but I also trust that I’ve been hired for my unique perspective. So, I think it’s that dance of collaborating to tell the story in the most powerful way we all can work together rather than just as individuals.”
What, according to you, is the mantra of success?
“When you hear the voices that say, “I can’t” – whether the ones outside you or in your head – turn away from them; skip over “I can’t” and go straight to “I will” and “I do.” Say yes – to life, to love, to things that scare you, to things you’ve never done. Most of the greatest experiences or accomplishments I’ve ever had in my life came from saying yes when I had no idea what I was getting into, or at the very least, how it was going to go. So get comfortable with being uncomfortable because so much that is worth exploring in life requires you to dive into the unknown. That’s where the sauce is!”
Meet the Author
Brianna Vacca is a Philadelphia-based writer. She has an unhealthy addiction to true crime documentaries, celebrity gossip, and writes overly dramatic sad songs.