The Perfectly Imperfect Karan Sagoo
Karan Sagoo is an artist who adheres to the rule that diverse roles widen an actor’s emotional palette. Well more than a decade into his professional film and television career, he’s continuing to challenge how audiences see him; whether it’s a modern twist on a classic or the latest horror film. Though he has “hero” looks and has most certainly taken the mantle of leading man in many productions, he’s fond of searching out the parts which allow for more exploration as a leading member of a strong cast. His award-winning role in Pride and Prejudice, Cut and the frightening Followed give evidence to the notion that Sagoo is undertaking the kind of roles which rebuke any sense of categorization by the film community or audiences. The only typecasting being imposed on this actor is his ability to transform himself into vastly disparate characters.
Becoming Ms. Benet
The writers of Pride and Prejudice, Cut (Elizabeth Snoderly and Erin Murphy West) wanted to incorporate Jane Austen’s nineteenth century book Pride and Prejudice into a modern romance film without using this classic romance as its template. Produced by G It’s Entertainment, the film does exactly that with a story which places (fictionalized) popular internet star Kate Miller [Lexi Giovagnoli of the Golden Globe nominated Crazy, Stupid, Love, Accidentally Engaged] in the Elizabeth Bennet role of a modern film production. Her more seasoned and classically trained British co-star Liam Walker [David Witts, known for his role in the numerous BAFTA winning BBC TV soap-opera Eastenders] is concerned that his presentation of Mr. Darcy will suffer from association with the upstart actress. As the producer of this contemporary Pride and Prejudice iteration, Jackson [Sagoo] is the even keeled equilibrium who constantly maintains a sense of balance and professionalism to the often chaotic production depicted in Pride and Prejudice, Cut. Jackson shoulders the lion’s share of responsibility that balances personal and professional factors to strive for a completed film. Whether from the film’s stars or financers, these forces are in a seemingly constant state of oppression over Jackson; a tone which Karan manages exceptionally well. Pride and Prejudice, Cut received a number of awards from the Lady Filmakers Festival in Los Angeles including Best Feature Film, Best Feature Screenplay, Best Actress in a feature film for Lexi Giovagnoli, and a Best Supporting Actor win for Sagoo. It’s obvious to the attendees at the LFF and all those whom have seen Karan’s work in this film that he is remarkable among the quite notable cast.
Karan on set
In a counter balance to the cool headed Jackson of Pride and Prejudice, Cut, Sagoo’s appearance in the Horror film Followed is dark and menacing. Karan’s performance is powerful to say the least and it stands amongst this impressive cast which includes John Savage, known for his roles in the five-time Oscar winning film The Deer Hunter, Golden Globe nominated film Hair, and iconic TV shows like Twin Peaks. Followed has already won a host of awards at festivals that include Best Horror/Thriller Feature Film at the Burbank International Film Festival, the Gold Award for Narrative Feature Horror at the Hollywood Independent Filmmaker Awards and Festival, and Best Thriller Feature Film at the Sydney Film Festival. Sadly, audiences will have to wait to see Followed as it’s wide release has been postponed like so many of this year’s films due to the coronavirus pandemic. What can be revealed is that there is twice as much Karan to experience in this film because he appears in two distinct roles; one as an opportunistic and power driven drug dealer and the other as a mysterious evil presence who delivers some of the most frightening moments of the film. Followed is a story about how social media influencers and sensationalist television meet the dark looming forces of the physical world and beyond. The relevant message of this disturbing film is “How far would you go to pursue internet fame?” Though not the leading role in which he is usually cast, Karan’s involvement in this film is a decision he made in respect to the overall creative statement it made. He relates, “I was approached for this project by the Director Antoine Le. Antoine required an experienced actor to play a drug dealer that harasses the Principal characters of the project. After meeting me and understanding my experience, he was surprised that I accepted a smaller role than I am used to doing. I explained that it is never the size of the role for me. I loved their teams vision and project and I wanted to be able to help in any way. Antoine had me play a second role, that of an evil presence, which required me to act physically and through movement, to produce a menacing and threatening performance.”
Karan Sagoo
It’s obvious that Karan Sagoo’s ability to morph into different character types, both physically and in his mindset, is what brings so much attention to his work. Whether as a substance dealing criminal, a dark and fearsome entity, or a committed film producer, Karan seems perfectly cast…until the next role in which he also seems to be completely perfect. Even though he is an award-winning actor, and at the risk of sounding humble he professes, “A great performance can come from not being perfect but instead using mistakes, as part of the final process and allowing them in to a part of the free flowing process that every actor should have.
Karan's Award for Best Supporting Actor at the LFF
A PERFECTLY IMPERFECT performance. I don’t act for fame, I don’t do it for awards, and I don’t do it for worldly recognition. I feel that acting is just like any other profession, except that it requires being in the public eye and having the reach through media. I just do what I do because I Love to do it.”
The Action side of Karan
Written by Patrick Wilson
