Actor/comedian Sid Veda started his entertainment career in NYC theatres and stand-up clubs, including opening gigs for comedy favorites Chris Rock and Russell Peters. Now based in Los Angeles, Veda made his on-screen mark in 2010 as Chad in MetroPCS’s Tech & Talk US ad campaign and on NBC’s Outsourced.
What training have you received?
I studied Acting with Gene Lasko of The Acting School in NYC, and Aaron Speiser and Chris Holder/Ivana Chubbuck in LA, amongst other teachers over the years. I have also trained in improv at Upright Citizens Brigade in NYC, and have performed stand-up throughout NYC and LA since 2002. Every stage I’ve been on has been ‘training’. Technically, every musical instrument and sport I have ever played is also training. Hell, I was Class Clown in High School. Let’s count that too.
What kinds of roles attract you?
I love comedy. I feel most comfortable with roles in my sense of humour—sarcastic, relatively snarky but geekily-nice. But I probably get more excited for a challenge to my personality. I guess the easiest way for me to enjoy a role is when I can feel the same reactions as my character.
What’s the best advice that you’ve been given as an actor?
All of it. And that is not a cop-out. I have heard so many conflicting pieces of advice in my career that I decided—right after I moved to Hollywood, in fact—that there are no rules and what works for different people is personal choice. I think there are so many random factors in Hollywood and in casting that it is ridiculous to assume something that worked for someone else is good advice. The MetroPCS Tech & Talk campaign is a great example. The casting folks happened to see something they liked in the brand of idiocy I put on tape. It’s just luck that they preferred my song-and-dance to some other extremely talented people.
Tell us the most significant moment in your career so far
I’ve been lucky. I’ve worked with David Fincher, Ken Kwapis and Rajiv Joseph amongst some other ridiculously talented folks. But the MetroPCS campaign really took my career to a different level. Between MetroPCS and Outsourced, 2010 was a landmark year for my career.
You’ll die happy when…
The people I love are happy the last time I see them.
