Aug 07, 2026 11:30am IST
‘Grey’s Anatomy’ Fame Anita Kalathara Recalls Losing A ‘Life-Changing’ Role in ‘Bridgerton’: ‘I Had Reached Pretty Far in the Process’ (EXCLUSIVE)
In Hollywood, careers are often shaped as much by the opportunities actors miss as the ones they land. For Anita Kalathara, two of those moments still stand out. The actor, whose credits include “Grey’s Anatomy,” “The Mindy Project,” “Doom Patrol” and “Quantum Leap,” says she came close to joining one of Netflix’s biggest global hits before an unexpected decision by her former representation took her out of the running. Looking back, she describes the role as one that “could genuinely have been life-changing.”
Speaking to Variety India, Kalathara revealed that she had advanced through the audition process for “Bridgerton” before her then-manager informed casting that she was unavailable. “There were times in my career when I had a different team,” Kalathara says. “Someone once told me to turn down a role, even though I had this instinct that I should do it. But I trusted my team because I was so young. I thought, ‘I have to trust my manager or my agent.’”
The experience, she says, wasn’t the first time she had followed advice that ultimately cost her a significant opportunity. Early in her career, Kalathara was offered a role in the 2014 supernatural thriller “Unfriended.” According to the actor, her representatives advised her to pass, believing the project could hurt her chances of securing Disney roles while also pointing to its modest pay.
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“I turned down a role that ended up becoming a huge franchise. That happened with ‘Unfriended,’ where I was offered a role, but my team at the time told me to pass because they felt it could be risky for Disney opportunities and the pay wasn’t that high. It ended up becoming a huge movie,” she says.
Years later, she found herself in a similar situation, this time with an even bigger project. She shares, “A couple of years ago, there was another role that could genuinely have been life-changing. I got pretty far in the process. But my manager at the time basically told me to tell them I wasn’t available because I was working on something else.”
When asked which project she was referring to, Kalathara identified it as “Bridgerton.” “It was ‘Bridgerton.’ I had reached pretty far in the process for the younger sister in ‘Bridgerton,' and my manager just told them I wasn’t available. When I later saw what happened to the other person’s career, I just thought, ‘Oh crap.’”
The actor says experiences like these eventually prompted her to rethink the kind of representation she wanted. “Throughout my career, I’ve had ups and downs finding a team that really matched what I wanted and understood what I was looking for,” she says. “I think the team I have now is just so great at understanding that I don’t like to be put in a box. I like to play a variety of characters, and they really understand that.”
Kalathara adds that her current representatives have consistently brought her opportunities that align with her creative ambitions. “They’ve been bringing me so many great auditions, even over the last couple of months. I probably can’t talk about them because the shows haven’t been announced yet, but I’m very lucky to have a team now that really gets me.”
While Kalathara says she no longer dwells on the missed opportunities, she believes they reinforced the importance of trusting both her instincts and the people representing her. In an industry where careers can pivot on a single audition or a single phone call, the actor says finding the right team has been as important as finding the right role.
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