Praneet Akilla was born in the early 90s in Mumbai to his Indian parents and lived in India for a while before moving to Canada. From Mumbai to Calgary, the change in scenery did not hinder the actor’s desire to one day be in show business. Though he strayed away from his desired field early on, Praneet found his way eventually, and now he plays Phillip Mishra in the sci-fi Netflix comic adaptation of October Faction.
Young Praneet Akilla was not exactly a confident kid while he was growing up. He was more of a bathroom, and in front of the mirror performer than a public one, but due to much convincing from his teachers, the actor found he was made for the stage and the art of performing. Praneet is thankful for his teachers for helping him get out of his shell, but considering the climate of show business, Praneet could not see a future for himself in the field.
Praneet Akilla was born in India but raised in Canada where he started his acting career.
Source: Praneet Akilla Instagram
Coming from an immigrant family, there is always a heightened amount of pressure to get a stable job and excel in class. Praneet Akilla wanted to be an actor, but neither he or his parents could see a way for the actor to make it in the industry with his skin color and ethnicity. So, instead of becoming an actor, Praneet enrolled in McGill University and got a degree in chemical engineering, but the bug of acting never left.
Taking a Gamble – Praneet Akilla’s Journey to Becoming an Actor
https://www.instagram.com/p/BwhnTHJB9Qd/
There is no denying the fact South Asian people are not well represented in movies and TV shows. This is the case for most of the ethnic group, but with the change in time, there is also much diversity in the way different race is portrayed in movies and TV shows. But when Praneet was starting out, he could not see himself getting many opportunities in the world of acting.
So, in order to settle down, the actor decided to become an engineer and soon was working at Suncor Energy as a chemical engineer. But acting was something he wanted to do, so while he was working as an engineer by the day, Praneet was moonlighting as a short movie and theatre actor by night. But it was not enough to quench the thirst of the actor, so he decided to take a leap of faith and commit to acting completely.
By 2018 he was done with his day job and pursuing acting as a fulltime gig. This also resulted in Praneet getting an agent in Vancouver, and the jobs started to roll in soon after. Praneet Akilla got his first shot at acting in a major production when he was hired for a single episode of Arrow. But the biggest role of his career came about four months after he was done with his Arrow stint.
Praneet Akilla Plays Phillip Mishra in the Netflix Series October Faction
October Faction is not the series you are expecting it to be; maybe it is the reason why there are two separate factions for how good the series was. You are either going to love it or, you will hate it because the trailers do not do a good job of setting up the tone for the show so, in Praneet Akilla’s own word, October Faction is a cross between “Supernatural and Men in Black.”
It is an apt description for a series where the Allen family moves back to their ancestral home after the death of Fred Allen’s father, Samuel Allen, played by J.C. MacKenzie and Stephen McHattie, respectively. But to the amazement of Viv Allen, played by Aurora Burghart, and Geoff Allen, played by Gabriel Darku, their parents Fred and Deloris Allen, played by Tamara Taylor, are not just simple insurance adjusters, they are monster hunters.
Also Read: October Faction Season 2 – 4 Things We want and 1 Thing to Improve
Phillip Mishra is played by Praneet Akilla, and the character is a big deal in the town, and in trying to assert his dominance, Geoff Allen catches the flack. But Phillip is going through his own troubles which are resulting in him lashing out at Geoff and as the series goes along a beautiful character arc for Phillip comes to light, all spoiler territory, so you better watch Praneet Akilla play Phillip Mishra in the unique series October Faction currently streaming on Netflix.
Praneet Akilla wants to be Role Model for Immigrant Kids from Calgary
Praneet Akilla said he wants to inspire kids who look like him to pursue their dreams.
Source: Praneet Akilla Instagram
As mentioned above, immigrant parents rule with an iron fist, and most of the career paths for their kids are laid out for them. There are no two ways about it; you got to school, go to college, get a degree, get a job, get married, and start a family. But Praneet, who was also put on the same path, wants the people who look like him to know there is another way, they can do what they want to do with their lives.
Praneet said, “I carry some responsibility to encourage kids that used to me to follow their passion and thing that makes them tick. It doesn’t have to be acting or anything like that, but I want to reach out to them and let them know that it can be done and has been done for people like me.”
Phillip Mishra is a Closeted-Gay Character in October Faction, What About Praneet Akilla’s Relationship Status?
The relationship between Geoff Allen and Praneet Akilla's character Phillip Mishra was all the hype in Netflix series October Faction.
Source: Instagram
The oldest post on Praneet Akilla’s Instagram page is from 2014, but the actor is frugal about his use and posting of images on the image sharing site. It took about five minutes to go through all the pictures, captions, and comments, but through all our research, we could not find a single mention of a special someone.
Praneet Akilla seems to be single at the moment, and since his career in acting only started about two years ago, he seems to be focused on his career as an actor and staying away from relationships at the moment.
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