Akshaya Pattanayak

Diversity Consultant / Artistic Collaborator

Akshaya is an actor and adjunct professor currently teaching acting courses at the Vancouver Film School. He graduated from the University of Southern California in 2019 with an MFA in Acting and his notable theatre credits include Bad Hamlet, Macbeth and 90 days. His film and TV credits include the comedy pilot Last Bite and the short film Don't Ask. He is the lead in the short film Cup of Cha which was recently screened at the South Asian Film Festival of Chicago and he made his TV debut in Avatar The Last Airbender which is currently streaming on Netflix.

The name Akshaya means “never ending”. He was born in Montreal, Canada but raised in different parts of India before returning to North America. Having lived in New Delhi, India, one of the most polluted cities in the world, versus his base now in Vancouver, BC, where nature is well preserved amidst the bustling city, Akshaya realizes how important it is to take care of our environment. In India, he experienced firsthand the ramifications of global warming as temperatures have steadily increased every year. He believes that conversations about the planet must be fundamentally inclusive and such conversations must also have diverse representation because the climate affects all of us.

He is currently obsessed with overpriced pour-over coffee and cricket. Akshaya is known for his dreamy personality, randomly bursting into Bollywood songs and assisting Sara to sell Girl Guide cookies in a giant cookie costume.