Suraj Sharma

Suraj Sharma (born 21 March 1993) is an Indian actor who made his debut in the 2012 film Life of Pi. Directed by Ang Lee, the film was adapted from the novel of the same name, and earned Sharma critical acclaim as well as a BAFTA Rising Star Award nomination. In 2014, he portrayed Aayan Ibrahim in season 4 of the Showtime series Homeland. From 2018 to 2020, he starred as Rakesh Singh in the CBS comedy-drama series God Friended Me.

Life and career Sharma was born and brought up in an Indian family in New Delhi, India. His father, Gokul Churai, is a software engineer from Thalassery, Kerala and a professional chess player, while his mother, Shailaja Sharma, is an economist from Palakkad, Kerala. Director Ang Lee has stated that he selected Sharma primarily based on his expressive eyes and innocent appearance. According to him, Sharma had not only the emotion, but also the "look" of Pi. His "medium complexion" and "average build" were deemed perfect for the role. The film was met with critical acclaim, winning four Academy Awards; Sharma's performance received positive reviews, and he was nominated for the BAFTA Rising Star Award.

After filming Life of Pi, Sharma returned to studying philosophy at St. Stephen's College, with the intention of continuing to work in filmmaking in some capacity. That same year, he portrayed Rinku Singh in the sports biopic Million Dollar Arm. He then co-starred with Tony Revolori in the Indian comedy-drama Umrika, which premiered at the 2015 Sundance Film Festival. In 2016, he starred in the Mongolian-American adventure drama film Burn Your Maps. He has also portrayed the role of Kanan Gill in his first Bollywood venture, Anshai Lal's romance comedy Phillauri co-starring Anushka Sharma and Diljit Dosanjh. From 2018 to 2020, he starred as Rakesh Singh in the CBS comedy-drama series God Friended Me. In 2019, he appeared in the American science fiction black comedy slasher film Happy Death Day 2U, a sequel to Christopher Landon's 2017 film Happy Death Day. In the same year, he appeared as Hassan in Danish Renzu's Indian American English-language drama film titled The Illegal.

In May 2021, Sharma was cast in How I Met Your Mother spinoff series, How I Met Your Father led by Hilary Duff. In November 2021, Duff and the cast confirmed via social media accounts that the series would premiere on 18 January 2022. The series was released on 18 January 2022. On 15 February 2022, Hulu renewed the series for a 20-episode second season.

Filmography

Film Year Title Role Notes 2012 Life of Pi Pi Patel Nominated BAFTA Rising Star Award 2014 Million Dollar Arm Rinku Singh 2015 Umrika Older Ramakant 2016 Burn Your Maps Ismail 2017 Phillauri Kanan Gill The Hungry Ankur Joshi The Lost Dev Mukherjee Short film 2019 Happy Death Day 2U Samar Ghosh Killerman FedEx The Illegal Hassan 2022 Wedding Season Ravi 2023 Gulmohar Aditya 2025 This Tempting Madness Ajay

Television Year Title Role Notes 2014–2015 Homeland Aayan Ibrahim 7 episodes 2018–2020 God Friended Me Rakesh Singh Series regular 2020 Little America Kabir Episode: "The Manager" 2022–2023 How I Met Your Father Sid Main Cast 2022 Pantheon IT Officer (voice) Episode: “The Gods Will Not Be Slain” 2023 Star Wars: Visions Charuk (voice) Episode: "The Bandits of Golak"2026The Night AgentJay BatraRecurring (season 3)

Awards and nominations Year Award Category Work Result 2012 British Academy Film Awards Rising Star Life of Pi Critics' Choice Movie Awards Best Young Actor/Actress Las Vegas Film Critics Society Youth in Film Phoenix Film Critics Society Breakthrough Performance on Camera 2013 NAACP Image Awards Outstanding Actor in a Motion Picture MTV Movie Awards Best Breakthrough Performance Best Scared-As-Shit Performance Saturn Awards Best Performance by a Younger Actor Empire Awards Best Male Newcomer Online Film & Television Association Awards Best Breakthrough Performance – Male 2015 London Indian Film Festival Pure Heaven Outstanding Young Talent Himself 2021Yellowstone International Film Festival Best Actor The Illegal 20232023 Filmfare OTT AwardsBest Supporting Actor in a Web Original FilmGulmohar