Shelley Malil is proud to be from the Indian state of Kerala and a
Malayalee, a people known for their comedic take on life. He had dreams
of becoming a comedic actor like his idol
Bob Hope, whom he first saw on a
neighbor's TV set--the only one in the fishing village on the southern
tip of India where he was raised. He caught national attention as
"Chad", one of the Budweiser "What are you doing?!" guys in
Anheuser-Busch's inspired "Whassup?!" commercial spin-off. The clever
send-up was voted best Super bowl commercial by a number of trade
publications, magazines and entertainment commentators.
Shelley first came to Hollywood in 1995, after a two-year stint at New
York's famed American Academy of Dramatic Arts. With less than $1000 to
his name and a phone number of a friend of a friend in his pocket, he
drove his van west. He asked his mother to make him a roll-away
mattress so that he would be able to sleep in his van until he could
find room and board. Within three weeks of his arrival he had landed a
manager, a guest-star role on FOX's
Die Abenteuer des Brisco County jr. (1993),
his SAG card and an apartment. Since then he has worked steadily,
appearing in numerous commercials, television shows and films.
Shelley began pursuing his dream of entertaining people on the stages
of Big Spring High School, where his leading turns often earned awards
in district competitions in Texas, where his family settled after
emigrating to the US in 1974. "Chili" and "Animal" were his teenage
nicknames. He got a taste of fame during those years when a group of
students formed "The Animal Fan Club" because of his popularity in
theater and as a disc jockey at a local radio station. After high
school, he spent a few seasons performing classic musicals on the
Dallas dinner theater circuit until he auditioned for the American
Academy of Dramatic Arts. He longs to return to the stage, where his
turn as "Bottom" in "A Midsummer Night's Dream" at the
Stella Adler Theatre garnered him a Best
Featured Actor nomination at the 1997 Los Angeles Ovation Awards. In
his spare time, Shelley takes a Zen-like approach to golf, goes to
approximately five films a week, devours motivational books and
recently joined the Big Brother Program.
