Erick Avari

Erick Avari is one of the most accomplished and versatile actors of his generation, with a career spanning five decades across theater, film, television, opera, and voice performance. Born in Darjeeling, India, he combined a strong academic foundation in literature with graduate training in acting and directing before embarking on a career that would help break barriers for actors of Indian descent. His work spans blockbuster hits, cult classics, independent films, comedy, and classical theater. Film audiences know him from Stargate , Independence Day , The Mummy , Planet of the Apes , Mr. Deeds , and the cult classic The Beast of War , as well as acclaimed independent films such as Three Days of Rain , Dancing in Twilight , Dark Matter , The Glass House , and Hachi: A Dog's Tale . Equally adept at comedy and drama, he has played strong supporting roles in productions ranging from Barry Sonnenfeld's For Love or Money to WoodyAllen's Don't Drink the Water . Though widely recognized for his screen work, Avari's first love has always been the stage. His theatrical career reflects extraordinary range, from Broadway's The King and I and the Public Theater's acclaimed 'Tis Pity She's a Whore (as Vasques) to the title role in King Lear , Joseph Smith in Mabou Mines' groundbreaking Mormon Project , Lenin in Rasputin at New York City Opera, and Mozart's The Abduction from the Seraglio .Along the way, he has worked with some of the most influential artists in American theater and film,including Joseph Papp, Mike Nichols, JoAnne Akalaitis, Richard Rush, Roland Emmerich, Stephen Sommers, and Tim Burton, while sharing the stage and screen with performers such as Meryl Streep, Richard Gere,Martin Sheen, Will Smith, Patrick Stewart, Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, and Jeff Goldblum. On television, Avari has appeared in more than 100 productions. He is one of the few actors to have appeared in three different Star Trek series and is also known for memorable roles in Stargate SG-1 , The X- Files , Babylon 5 , Heroes , and multiple Law & Order series. His television work has ranged from science fiction and drama to numerous sitcoms, including Cheers , Cybill , and Murphy Brown proving that whether facing alien invasions, legal interrogations, or punchlines, he was equally at home. Over the course of his career,he has portrayed characters from more than two dozen ethnic backgrounds, as well as heroes, villains,scholars, mystics, kings, and comic eccentrics, always bringing truth, realism, and authenticity to every role. A pioneer for South Asian actors in American entertainment, Avari helped redefine what was possible for performers of Indian descent by building a career based on excellence rather than stereotype. Today, he continues to captivate audiences worldwide as Nicodemus in The Chosen , one of the most widely watched television series in the world. From soap opera to grand opera, from Shakespeare and science fiction to broad comedy, Erick Avari has spent a lifetime proving that truth, integrity, and craft transcend genre, ethnicity, and typecasting.