Passage to American Television : Can SAG-AFTRA Indian Americans play a Series Regular Attorney role

Is there any rule that applies to creating Indian American Attorney characters in Television? In my opinion an East Indian can play a Series Regular Attorney role similar to an African American or a Caucasian Attorney. There's a definite personality trait among litigators. To work in front of a jury, a self-assured willingness to put themselves out there and be showmen. Attorney's are performing in front of people, persuading and selling themselves for the client, so they're always on." Self-deprecation is not a trait common among trial lawyers. Indian American Attorneys, if they're good, always think they're going to win the case. So I think an Indian American actor playing an Attorney role has to have that mindset on set. The way Attorney's behave in film and on TV does not, from experience, represent the way they behave in real life. There's a great diversity among Attorneys in how they behave and present themselves. Attorney's come in a wide variety of packages and personalities. They should be robust and confident characters. Attorney skills and acting skills are interchangeable. "If you're a good actor in general, you know how to hold on to some internal conflict". Technical aspects of playing a lawyer is whether or not the actor can connect to the audience knowing that they remotely understand the content of the lines they're saying. Presumably that criteria could be applied to any profession represented onscreen, such as doctors, for which actors must at least vaguely understand the technical medical jargon they're delivering on set. A trial attorney has to have audacity on set. An audacity that you can't believe you'll lose, but the audience has to believe there's a chance you will." Once again, in any role, you want to create a fully rounded human being, flaws and all.

-Rajeev Pahuja