Bio
Parvesh Cheena is an American actor best known for his starring role as Gupta, a socially awkward call centre employee at Mid America Novelties, whom everyone tries to avoid because of his never-ending conversations, in the television sitcom Outsourced, from 2010-2011.
Cheena has recurred on Help Me Help You, 'Til Death, and Brothers and Sisters. Other guest starring roles include ER, The West Wing, The O.C., The Suite Life with Zack and Cody, Crossing Jordan, My Name is Earl and Sons of Tucson.
He has also shot over 20 episodes for the American version of the multinational hit Camera Café, with Movido.TV, headed by MAD-TV producer David Salzman.
His film debut was in Barbershop as Samir, and he reprised his role in the sequel Barbershop 2: Back in Business.
Cheena appeared in Because I Said So, opposite Diane Keaton, and had guest-starring roles in the short films The Big Empty with Selma Blair, and Fly Like Mercury, directed by Harry Lennix and produced by David Schwimmer.
Other film credits include House Broken with Danny DeVito, The Other End of the Line, Krews, and The Ode. His film Karma Calling made the festival rounds in San Francisco, Chicago, Toronto and Los Angeles.
Cheena has appeared in more than 20 national commercials, including ad campaigns for Bud Light, Emerald Nuts, Armstrong Flooring, Cadillac, Sears, AT&T, PetSmart, and T-Mobile as a member of the Poser Mobile Posse, and Skittles with an opera-singing bunny rabbit.
He also had cameos in Liam Sullivan's KELLY music videos of Txt Message Brkup, Let Me Borrow That Top, and No Booty Calls.
Making the top 10 lists of both the Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times, Cheena appeared as Dilip and the Coomeraswami in Tom Stoppard's Indian Ink at The Apple Tree Theatre.
In addition, he appeared in Jeff Citation's award-winning Around the World in 80 Days at the Lifeline Theatre.
Other Chicago theatre credits include The Sign of the Four at the Apple Tree Theatre, and Romeo and Juliet at Chicago Shakespeare Theatre, directed by Gary Griffin.
Regional theatre credits include Blue Dove at the Ivar Theatre; The Legend of Jane and Joe at the Ricardo Montálban Theatre; and as Peter Quince in A Midsummer Night's Dream at the Hollywood Forever Cemetery.
Cheena was also seen onstage in the world premiere of Ron West and Phil Swann's musical deLEARious at the Open Fist Theatre in Hollywood.
A Second City Los Angeles Conservatory and IO/West graduate, Cheena currently performs long-form improvisation with the Harold mainstage team, Fairfax Prep, at IO/West.
He is also a part of a three-man improv group named STU; the South Asian team Browntown; and the musical improv troupe All-Skate.
He is continuing classes at Steppenwolf Classes West with renowned viewpoints teacher Alexandra Billings, and at the Uprights Citizens Brigade Theatre in Los Angeles.
Cheena grew up in Naperville, Illinois, and studied musical theatre at the Chicago College of Performing Arts at Roosevelt University. He currently resides in Los Angeles.