Karan Brar (born January 18, 1999) is an American actor. He portrayed Chirag Gupta in the ''

Diary of a Wimpy Kid ''Diary of a Wimpy Kid'' is an American children’s book series and media franchise created by author and cartoonist Jeff Kinney. The series follows Greg Heffley, a middle-schooler who illustrates his daily life in a diary (although he const ...

'' film franchise and Ravi Ross on the

Disney Channel Original Series This article lists past, present and future television programming on American basic cable channel and former premium channel, Disney Channel, since its launch on April 18, 1983. Current programming Original Live-action Animated Shorts Ac ...

'' Jessie'' and its subsequent spin-off ''

Bunk'd ''Bunk'd'' is an American Television comedy, comedy television series created by Pamela Eells O'Connell that premiered on Disney Channel on July 31, 2015. The series is a spinoff of ''Jessie (2011 TV series), Jessie'' and for the first three sea ...

''.

Early life

Karan Brar was born on January 18, 1999, in

Redmond, Washington Redmond is a city in King County, Washington, United States, located east of Seattle. The population was 73,256 at the 2020 census, up from 54,144 in 2010. Redmond is best known as the home of Microsoft and Nintendo of America. With an an ...

, to parents who are of

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

ancestry. He was raised in Bothell, Washington, and has one older sibling, a sister named Sabreena. Brar attended Cedar Wood Elementary School and studied acting at

John Robert Powers John Robert Powers (September 14, 1892 – July 21, 1977) was an American actor and founder of a New York City modeling agency. In 1923, Powers founded a modeling school. The John Robert Powers Agency represented models who aspired to success in ...

and Patti Kalles workshops.

Career

Brar began his acting career at the age of 11, starring as Indian middle schooler Chirag Gupta in the comedy feature film ''

''. Born and raised in the United States, Brar naturally speaks with an American accent and worked with a

dialect coach A dialect coach is an acting coach who helps an actor design the voice and speech of a character in the context of an on-camera (film, television or commercial), stage (theatre, musical theatre, opera, etc.), radio or animation voiceover production. ...

to perfect his Indian accent for the role. In March 2011, Brar reprised his role as Chirag Gupta in the feature film sequel '' Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Rodrick Rules''. In October 2011, it was confirmed that he would also be reprising his role as Chirag for the third installment of the '' Wimpy Kid'' franchise, '' Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days'', released on August 3, 2012. In April 2010, he appeared in the ''Seeds of Compassion'' advertorial campaign announcing the

Dalai Lama Dalai Lama (, ; ) is a title given by the Tibetan people to the foremost spiritual leader of the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" school of Tibetan Buddhism, the newest and most dominant of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The 14th and current Dal ...

's visit to Seattle, as well as appearing in commercials for

Shell Gasoline Shell USA, Inc. (formerly Shell Oil Company, Inc.) is the United States-based wholly owned subsidiary of Shell plc, a UK-based transnational corporation " oil major" which is amongst the largest oil companies in the world. Approximately 18,00 ...

and Committee for Children. Brar began starring in the role of 10-year-old Indian adoptee Ravi Ross on the

Disney Channel Disney Channel, sometimes known as simply Disney, is an American pay television channel that serves as the flagship property of Disney Branded Television, a unit of the Disney General Entertainment Content division of The Walt Disney Compan ...

comedy series '' Jessie'' in September 2011. During pre-production of the show, the role of Ravi was originally intended to be a

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...

boy named Javier from

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere at the northern tip of the continent. It can also be described as the southe ...

, but casting directors were impressed with Brar during the audition process and ultimately decided to recreate the role for him. In February 2015, a new Disney Channel series ''

'', a spin-off of ''Jessie'', was announced, in which Brar would reprise his role as Ravi Ross. That year, he played the role of George in the Disney Channel Original Movie ''

Invisible Sister ''Invisible Sister'' is a 2015 Disney Channel Original Movie, based on the book ''My Invisible Sister'' by Beatrice Colin and Sara Pinto. The film is directed by Paul Hoen, and stars Rowan Blanchard and Paris Berelc. It focuses on a student who ...

''. In 2018, he had a minor role in the science fiction film '' Pacific Rim: Uprising''.

Personal life

Brar lived in the

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 world' ...

area with his parents and older sister, until he moved in with fellow actors

Cameron Boyce Cameron Mica Boyce (May 28, 1999 – July 6, 2019) was an American actor. He began his career as a child actor, appearing in the 2008 films ''Mirrors'' and ''Eagle Eye'', along with the comedy film '' Grown Ups'' (2010) and its 2013 sequel. H ...

and

Sophie Reynolds Sophie Anne Reynoldson, known professionally as Sophie Reynolds (born April 2, 1999) is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Ashley Parker in '' Gamer's Guide to Pretty Much Everything'' and Isabel McKenna on '' L.A.'s Finest''. Li ...

in May 2019.

Filmography

Film

Television

Podcast

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brar, Karan 1999 births Male actors from Washington (state) American male child actors American male film actors American male actors of Indian descent American male television actors Living people People from Redmond, Washington 21st-century American male actors People from Bothell, Washington