Adhir Kalyan

His name may never have had a household ring to it, but actor Adhir Kalyan was set to make an impression with viewers one way or another with his leading role in "Aliens in America" (CW, 2007-08), playing Raja, a Pakistani Muslim exchange student trying to fit in at his small Wisconsin town. Kalyan, who was of Indian descent, was born in 1984 and raised in Durban, South Africa. He began acting onstage in South African theater in productions of "Macbeth," "Oliver" and even "A Christmas Carol" before moving to London to continue to pursue acting, appearing on television on the BBC series "Holby City" (BBC, 1999- ) as well as "MI-5" (BBC, 2002-11).

In "Aliens in America," Kalyan was paired with co-star Dan Byrd, who plays Justin, Raja's teenaged American host and social outcast. Kalyan's Raja comes as a surprise to everyone when Justin's mother Franny (Amy Pietz) takes it upon herself to help her unpopular son out by bringing in a "cool" foreign exchange student. But when the family warms to him, they all agree he should stay. Although Kalyan was not Pakistani, he researched heavily for the role, taking on the responsibility of representing an entire culture to viewers of the show.