Chacko Vadaketh (born 1963 in

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South C ...

, India) is a

Malaysia Malaysia ( ; ) is a country in Southeast Asia. The federation, federal constitutional monarchy consists of States and federal territories of Malaysia, thirteen states and three federal territories, separated by the South China Sea into two r ...

actor An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), l ...

, emcee and

voice over artist Voice acting is the art of performing voice-overs to present a character or provide information to an audience. Performers are called voice actors/actresses, voice artists, dubbing artists, voice talent, voice-over artists, or voice-over talent ...

, formerly a litigation lawyer who is part of the

Malayali The Malayali people () (also spelt Malayalee and also known by the demonym Keralite) are a Dravidian ethnolinguistic group originating from the present-day state of Kerala in India, occupying its southwestern Malabar coast. They are predomina ...

/Keralan Syrian Christian community. He is based in

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = ''Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , sub ...

and

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wor ...

. Recent credits include

narrator Narration is the use of a written or spoken commentary to convey a story to an audience. Narration is conveyed by a narrator: a specific person, or unspecified literary voice, developed by the creator of the story to deliver information to the ...

for the

Nat Geo ''National Geographic'' (formerly the ''National Geographic Magazine'', sometimes branded as NAT GEO) is a popular American monthly magazine published by National Geographic Partners. Known for its photojournalism, it is one of the most widely ...

History Channel History (formerly The History Channel from January 1, 1995 to February 15, 2008, stylized as HISTORY) is an American pay television network and flagship channel owned by A&E Networks, a joint venture between Hearst Communications and the Dis ...

Asia series Road to Nationhood (2016-2018), host for the Royal Gala for

The Prince of Wales Prince of Wales ( cy, Tywysog Cymru, ; la, Princeps Cambriae/Walliae) is a title traditionally given to the heir apparent to the English and later British throne. Prior to the conquest by Edward I in the 13th century, it was used by the rulers ...

in Kuala Lumpur (2017), Coach Tharman in Anak Merdeka (

ASTRO Astro may refer to: Entertainment and media * Astro (South Korean band), a South Korean boy band * Astro (UB40) (1957–2021), member of the British reggae band UB40 * Astro (Chilean band), a Chilean indie rock band * Astro (Japanese band), a ...

2017), King Bimbisara in Amrapali Singapore (2017), Co-Star in

BBC One BBC One is a British free-to-air public broadcast television network owned and operated by the BBC. It is the corporation's Flagship (broadcasting), flagship network and is known for broadcasting mainstream programming, which includes BBC News ...

series

Our Girl ''Our Girl'' is a British television military drama series, written and created by Tony Grounds, first broadcast on BBC One on 24 March 2013. The series initially starred Lacey Turner as Molly Dawes, a young working-class woman, who joins the ...

(2018), Guest Star in

Cinemax Cinemax is an American pay television, cable, and satellite television network owned by the Home Box Office, Inc. subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. Developed as a companion "maxi-pay" service complementing the offerings shown on parent ...

UK/US series Strike Back (2019), The Bridge (

HBO Asia HBO Asia is the Asian division of HBO, based out of Singapore. It was originally launched on 1 May 1992 as MovieVision, later rebranding on 1 June 1995 to its current name after being purchased by Home Box Office, Inc. The Singapore-based broa ...

, viu, 2018). Chacko was Sabo Singh in

Singapore Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...

for all three seasons of sitcom Mr Kiasu (2002): nominated for Best Comedy,

Asian Television Award The Asian Television Awards (launched in 1996), is an appreciation to recognize and reward programming and production excellence in the Asian television industry. Held every December, the Awards comprises 56 categories across news, documentarie ...

s and played the villain Sarkar opposite Antonio Sabàto Jr. in the movie Princess of Mars (2009). In August 2023, he was appointed to a two-year term on the Board of the Film Development Corporation of Malaysia (FINAS).

Early life

Family

His father Tan Sri V.C. George, son of Chacko of Vadaketh house, is a former judge of the

Court of Appeal of Malaysia The Court of Appeal ( ms, Mahkamah Rayuan Malaysia) is an appellate court of the judiciary system in Malaysia. It is the second highest court in the hierarchy below the Federal Court. This court was created in 1994 as part of reforms made to ...

and past president of the

Malaysian Bar The Malaysian Bar (Malay: Badan Peguam Malaysia) is a professional body which regulates the profession of lawyers in peninsular Malaysia. In Malaysia, there is no distinction between a barrister and a solicitor, in that, it is a fused profe ...

, and his mother Puan Sri Datin Dr. Rebecca George was a Consultant

Paediatrician Pediatrics ( also spelled ''paediatrics'' or ''pædiatrics'') is the branch of medicine that involves the medical care of infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. In the United Kingdom, paediatrics covers many of their youth until the ...

who moved to Malaysia from India after her marriage in 1962 and worked at the Seremban and

Kuala Lumpur General Hospital Kuala Lumpur Hospital ( ms, Hospital Besar Kuala Lumpur, abbr: ''HKL'') is a Malaysian government-owned public hospital in Kuala Lumpur, the capital city of Malaysia. Founded in 1870, HKL is a not-for-profit institution and serves as the flags ...

s and retired as Associate Professor of Paediatrics at

University of Malaya The University of Malaya ( ms, Universiti Malaya, UM; abbreviated as UM or informally the Malayan University) is a public research university located in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. It is the oldest and highest ranking Malaysian institution of highe ...

Medical Center. She is a pioneer in the study and treatment of

Dengue Virus ''Dengue virus'' (DENV) is the cause of dengue fever. It is a mosquito-borne, single positive-stranded RNA virus of the family ''Flaviviridae''; genus ''Flavivirus''. Four serotypes of the virus have been found, a reported fifth has yet to be c ...

Infection in children, authoring textbooks on it and was a consultant for the

WHO Who or WHO may refer to: * Who (pronoun), an interrogative or relative pronoun * Who?, one of the Five Ws in journalism * World Health Organization Arts and entertainment Fictional characters * Who, a creature in the Dr. Seuss book ''Horton Hear ...

. His father was born in Klang,

Selangor Selangor (; ), also known by its Arabic language, Arabic honorific Darul Ehsan, or "Abode of Sincerity", is one of the 13 Malaysian states. It is on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and is bordered by Perak to the north, Pahang to the east ...

, Malaysia and his mother in

Ooty Ooty (), officially known as Udhagamandalam (also known as Ootacamund (); abbreviated as Udhagai), is a city and a municipality in the Nilgiris district of the South Indian States and territories of India, state of Tamil Nadu. It is located ...

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a state in southern India. It is the tenth largest Indian state by area and the sixth largest by population. Its capital and largest city is Chennai. Tamil Nadu is the home of the Tamil people, whose Tamil languag ...

, India and both are of the Keralan Syrian Christian community.

School

His primary schooling was in The Garden School and Batu Road School both in Kuala Lumpur. He secured a place to do his secondary education at the Victoria Institution, Kuala Lumpur where he remained for 5 years before going to Haileybury in Hertfordshire, England to do his A levels.

University & Acting schools

He has a degree in Law and Archaeology &

Anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of be ...

from Cambridge University (Pembroke College) and is a

Barrister-at-Law A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and givin ...

Lincoln's Inn, London The Honourable Society of Lincoln's Inn is one of the four Inns of Court in London to which barristers of England and Wales belong and where they are called to the Bar. (The other three are Middle Temple, Inner Temple and Gray's Inn.) Lincoln ...

. He studied at the

New School The New School is a private research university in New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over ...

, New York by taking classes in Acting for Film and Television; Directing for the Stage and Introduction to Film Making. He studied acting at the Carter Thor Studios, Los Angeles. His first encounter with

Drama Drama is the specific Mode (literature), mode of fiction Mimesis, represented in performance: a Play (theatre), play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on Radio drama, radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a g ...

and acting was in his pre-teen years under the tutelage of

Donald Davies Donald Watts Davies, (7 June 1924 – 28 May 2000) was a Welsh computer scientist who was employed at the UK National Physical Laboratory (NPL). In 1965 he conceived of packet switching, which is today the dominant basis for data communic ...

who taught Speech and Drama in Kuala Lumpur at the Federal Academy of Music. He also sang with the church choir was active in church theatre productions at the St Thomas Marthoma Syrian Church in Kuala Lumpur. He got hooked on acting as an undergraduate at

Cambridge University , mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts. Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge. , established = , other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...

playing roles like

Othello ''Othello'' (full title: ''The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice'') is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare, probably in 1603, set in the contemporary Ottoman–Venetian War (1570–1573) fought for the control of the Island of Cyp ...

Benvolio Benvolio is a fictional character in William Shakespeare's tragedy ''Romeo and Juliet''. He is Lord Montague's nephew and Romeo's cousin. Benvolio serves as an unsuccessful peacemaker in the play, attempting to prevent violence between the Capul ...

and Siddhartha. He played Abanaza in musical pantomime for the Cambridge University Light Entertainment Society. CULES with Prince Edward at the

Edinburgh Festival Fringe The Edinburgh Festival Fringe (also referred to as The Fringe, Edinburgh Fringe, or Edinburgh Fringe Festival) is the world's largest arts and media festival, which in 2019 spanned 25 days and featured more than 59,600 performances of 3,841 dif ...

Work

He was a

litigator - A lawsuit is a proceeding by a party or parties against another in the civil court of law. The archaic term "suit in law" is found in only a small number of laws still in effect today. The term "lawsuit" is used in reference to a civil acti ...

with the law firm Shearn Delamore based in Kuala Lumpur.

Acting career

Filmography

*''Shadowplay'' ... Hans the Hoarder (2019) *''Tie the Knot'' ... Dilip (2016) *''Battle Scars'' ... Dr. Shah (2015) *''Life in Color'' ... Sangie (voice) (2015) *''Booze Boys & Brownies'' ... Frances Turquoise (2014) *''The Pink Sorrys (Short)'' ... Jimmy (2014) *''Arachnoplilia (Short)'' ... Puri (2013) *''Paranormal Whacktivity'' ... George (2013) *''SALADIN (animated TV Series)'' ... super villain The Host (voice) (2012) *''Use Me Up (Short)'' ... Lily's Co-worker (2012) *''I Am Singh'' ... Muslim Community Leader (2011) *'' Little Blue Pill'' ... Commercial Director (2010) *''Blue Movies (Short)'' ... Sayed Mahmoud (2009) *'' Princess of Mars'' ... Sarka / Sab Than (2009) *''The Blue Mansion'' ... Additional Voice (2009) *'' 1957: Hati Malaya'' ... EEC Thuraisingam (2007) *''

Entrapment Entrapment is a practice in which a law enforcement agent or agent of the state induces a person to commit a "crime" that the person would have otherwise been unlikely or unwilling to commit.''Sloane'' (1990) 49 A Crim R 270. See also agent prov ...

'' ... Principal (1999)

Television

*''Strike Back'' ... Professor Shah (2019) *''That Squirrel DID WHAT?!'' ... Sergio (2015) *''Paloma'' ... Motivational Speaker (2014) *''

The Bold and the Beautiful ''The Bold and the Beautiful'' (often referred to as ''B&B'') is an American television soap opera created by William J. Bell and Lee Phillip Bell for CBS. It premiered on March 23, 1987, as a sister show to the Bells' other soap opera ''The Yo ...

'' ... Muhammed (2014) *''Susanna'' ... Driver (2013) *''In Plain Sight'' ... Abu Patek (2012) *''

Rules of Engagement Rules of engagement (ROE) are the internal rules or directives afforded military forces (including individuals) that define the circumstances, conditions, degree, and manner in which the use of force, or actions which might be construed as pr ...

'' - Episode: ''Rug-of-War'' ... Ravi (2010) *''The Forgotten'' ... Bellhop (2010) *''

Mr. Kiasu Johnny Lau (刘夏宗) is a Singaporean artist famous for his iconic comic series ''Mr Kiasu''. Since the 1990s, Lau has been appointed creative director or co-producer of a number of projects with various art and design forms, including publis ...

'' ... Sabo Singh (2002) *''AlterAsians'' ... Dr. Sam (2000) *'' The Bridge'' ... Anil Raj (2018)

Documentary

*''Kaleidoscope of Rainforest Conservation'' ... written, directed, narrated and produced by Chacko Vadaketh (2022) *''Road to Nationhood (

Asia series)'' ... Narrator (2016-2018) *''Confessions of a Self-Hating Jew'' ... Yoga Student #1 (2012) *''Aftermath with William Shatner'' ... Jessica's Iraqi Doctor (2010) *''The Big Durian'' ... Self (2003)

Theatre

Roles in

Kuala Lumpur , anthem = ''Maju dan Sejahtera'' , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Malaysia#Southeast Asia#Asia , pushpin_map_caption = , coordinates = , sub ...

including *Tales from the Scars (2019) *Love Story (2017) *Shakespeare Goes Bollywood (2016) *Love Journey – A Nation Of Two (2015)Tale of love that bridges boundaries By Aref Oma
New Straits Times, July 2015
/ref> * King Arthur (Camelot) *Capulet (

Romeo & Juliet ''Romeo and Juliet'' is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetime and, along with ''Ham ...

) *Nehru (Sindhu-A tribute to Nehru)