A new British invasion has begun. Our music playlists are going full Brit rock for the recently reunited Oasis;  it was Brat green all summer with Charli xcx’s explosive era; TikTok feeds are fueled by the laughs of “Chicken Shop Date”; streaming screens are debuting the newest leading men from across the pond. Enter Rish Shah: one of the many English actors that has been popping up in back-to-back hit releases—from his breakout role in Marvel Studios miniseries Ms. Marvel to the Netflix black comedy Do Revenge and the Prime Video hit Overcompensating. A scene stealer in projects that have helped cement him as a budding mainstay since 2019, one might wonder: Who was the actor before the boom?

“I was actually studying at university—King’s College in London—and I was studying English language and linguistics,” explains Shah. “The goal was always to go and get a degree, but I knew that I wanted to pursue [acting], and I was just trying to find a way to make it happen.” And happen it did—but not without a few bumps on the road to being top of the call sheet. “I was reaching out to so many agencies, probably way too early. It took a long time to get on the radar back home and even understand what an audition really feels and looks like. It’s so different from how I’d imagined.” But as luck would have it, a stranger in the crowd during one of his plays would go on to help the budding star get on the path to the Milky Way (aka Hollywood). “I remember doing a show—this kind of Freudian piece in the middle of South London—and I caught the attention of my now agent. He was one of the very few audience members who’d actually shown up that night. That was the start of the domino effect. It was really serendipitous. It got access to all of these rooms that were just a dream. As I began to sign with people in America, I remember entering those initial conversations saying, ‘Hey, I want to join the MCU’”—that’s Marvel Cinematic Universe for those blissfully unaware of the franchise beast. “’ I had such big goals that people at my uni thought I was probably crazy, [but I thought] ‘I’m going to go and I’m going to pursue this.’”

“I still feel like I’m in the infancy stages of my career. But prior to all of this, I was just studying at university. I was at King’s College in London, and I was studying English language and linguistics. I think the goal was always to go and get a degree, but I knew that I wanted to pursue a career path [in acting], and I was just trying to find a way to make it happen.”

—Rish Shah on life before the acting bug caught him

Several auditions later, the world first got to know Shah through his role as Kamran in 2022’s Ms. Marvel, a part that opened the door for more opportunities and more representation than he could imagine. “It was one of the most meaningful projects I could have done. It’s something I carry with great pride,” he explains. “It meant so much to people who look like me. I think it started to solidify the space I’ve begun my career in.” Cut to the present day, where the British Indian actor joined the lively cast of the ever-viral Overcompensating series. “I just remember seeing the script and immediately knowing that I was obsessed with the cadence of the show. It was so different from anything I’ve done.” Led by comedian and TikTok sensation Benito Skinner, the show’s focus on finding oneself during those painfully awkward college years (the ones Shah likely knows all about) brought about a wave of inspiring determination. “I instantly clicked with Benny from our first call. I was [already] telling friends that I was going to be doing the show before it was all really [confirmed], which is crazy. But it felt so right to me. And that’s rare.”

“When I was super young, I was just obsessed with performance of all sorts. I used to [be in] Diwali competitions, and it’s actually so funny—I’ve kind of only just realized that in retrospect recently, as I was going through old family videos, and I was like, Oh, wow, I really did use to do that. My cousins and I used to put on these plays, and then I really fell in love with theater. Genuinely, my first love for acting, and my passion and drive, stems entirely from theater.”

—Rish Shah on his early passion for performance

A wave of confidence that soon proved to be a move of manifestation as the show’s stacked cast (including Adam DiMarco, Mary Beth Barone, and Kaia Gerber, with appearances by Connie Britton, Kyle MacLachlan, and Megan Fox) brought forth one of the most visually beloved dynamics in recent times. “We were [filming] in Toronto, and most of us lived in the same building, which really helped solidify our camaraderie and friendships,” he explains. “We got really close with one another, which I think translates beautifully onto screen as well. [Our first team bonding experience] we ate dinner, but then ended up at karaoke. Everyone was serenaded by one another, and it was a good icebreaker, for sure. [My go-to karaoke song] is always ‘She Will Be Loved’ by Maroon 5.”

With fans clamoring for season two of the show, anyone itching to get more glimpses of Shah on their screen won’t have to wait too long, thankfully. Later this fall, the actor is set to star in a new film by photographer-turned-filmmaker Aidan Zamiri. Entitled The Moment, the mockumentary film follows a pop star right before she hits the stage of her debut headlining tour—starring Mrs. xcx, Alexander Skarsgård, and Isaac Cole Powell—and has remained hush-hush since its announcement. Shah’s excitement is enough to keep us on our toes. “I was brought on by Aiden and Charli,” he explains. “Aiden is so talented. He’s just got the most open, friendly approach, yet he’s still so calculated. He brings out the best in people. We just wrapped up, not too long ago, around Coachella. It’s something that I wanted to show up and do justice as they put their faith in me. It’s going to be super exciting.”

This story appears in the pages of VMAN 55: now available for purchase!

Photography Isaac Anthony 

Fashion Arut Arustamyan

Editor Charles Kolbrener

Interview Kev Ponce

Grooming Peter Gray (Home Agency) using Oway USA

Location WSA Studio

Photo Assistants Isaac Schell, Anthony Lorelli

Fashion Assistants Abel Martirosyan, Erika Bennett, Adlet Bermukhamedov