TV INTERVIEW: ALICE AMTER
Adding character to CBS's 'The Big Bang Theory'
In reality, most Indian mothers are stereotyped as submissive and conservative. The idea of an Indian mother doing something
other than driving a Toyota Camry with her two kids or cooking tasty Indian dishes for her family is quite easy to conjure up for most South Asian youths living in these United States. Stereotypes are meant to be shattered. Alice Amter has done quite a good job of dropping those said stereotypes to the floor and stepping all over them.
Sure, she enjoys playing the bit role of an Indian mother on television, wearing beautiful saris and poking fun at her nerdy son on CBS’s The Big Bang Theory. Known throughout Hollywood as “The Chameleon,” Amter enjoys anything but being typecast as an actress.
Okay, hold the presses. Amter is still playing an Indian mother…except this time she is showing the dirty side of motherhood. Playing the submissive mother in the second season of The Cleaner, she’s not only much younger than the writers intended to portray her as, but her fictional personality deals with the harsh reality of drugs instead of the stereotypical myth of mothering a genius of a son.
Consider the stereotype shattered.
Known for her comedic role as Mrs. Koothrappali on The Big Bang Theory, Amter switches gears and takes on the more serious role of Anjali Patel alongside Benjamin Bratt in the A&E drama. Scripted as an older lady, Amter relied upon every bone, muscle and cosmetic piece of beauty possible to demonstrate she had the acting chops to play a role which she was told she was “too young, too pretty and too modern” to play on the first day of shooting.
Despite some initial resistance to wearing the grey weave, she, in fact, grew to like the way it blended with her own hair and consequently decided to keep it in between shoot days. Surprisingly, the experience made her unafraid of ageing, as she received many compliments about how “cool” it actually looked on her.
In addition to aging up, this character was, in many ways, a considerable stretch for Amter, since she found herself unable to draw on her own assertive, energetic persona. It was that very persona that had to completely disappear in order to accurately portray the character, which was instrumental to the storyline. That meant changing everything, from the way she looked physically to her energy level, body language, as well as her accent.
Amter enjoyed the challenge, however, and joked that those emotional scenes were even more difficult when played opposite Bratt. Part of her role included having to speak Hindi in some scenes, which was extra challenging since the mother tongue of India is not one of the five languages she currently speaks. Alas, with minimal instruction, Amter picked up a new language and very quickly mastered her new role as a serious mother.
Launching her acting career in 1998 as the first Indian doctor on the critically acclaimed NBC drama, ER, Amter has since seen her name accredited in a total of 24 television shows or movies, including three episodes of The Big Bang Theory, the upcoming episode of The Cleaner, as well as key roles on an episode of Judging Amy, and the Vin Diesel flick, A Man Apart.
Already quite the diverse resumé, Amter hopes to continue building upon her experiences in playing roles that challenge both her and her fans.
The second season premiere of The Cleaner aired on A&E on June 23rd at 10:00 p.m. Amter’s guest-starring turn will take place on the June 30th episode entitled “The Projectionist.”
London Flair Public Relations contributed to this story.
