(May 11, 2024) Rarely does a budding actor strike gold with their inaugural venture, yet Ashley Ganger defied the odds. Making her debut on Netflix’s acclaimed drama Grand Army, the 23-year-old Indian-Canadian actress captivated audiences since its October premiere. Portraying Meera Pakam, a feminist artist/playwright addressing topics such as sexuality and consent, Ganger shines amidst the backdrop of a Brooklyn high school.
“I am quite grateful that I got this part, and it was a great experience,” shared the actress, in a recent interview, “Actually, Grand Army was my second big audition with an actual character. Before this, I was going to commercial auditions. As soon as I read the character description for Meera I wanted it badly. I worked on the scene with my acting coach and went to the audition. In my head, I thought, “How often is it that someone books the first huge thing that comes their way, haha yeah right no way!” Fast forward to two callbacks later here we are. Funny enough Sydney Meyer, who plays Anna Delaney, was the reader in my second callback and then I reconnected with her on set, so that was fun.”
Donning many hats
Her parents were born in Punjab, India, and moved to Canada in the early 80s in search of better career opportunities. Sharing about her family, the actress said, “Ganger is my dad’s last name, and my family is from India. Both of my parents were born in India and the majority of my extended family is split between England and India. Ganger is a very uncommon Indian last name so sometimes it throws people off; I remember Googling it one time and seeing that it comes from Ireland, no idea about the connection but my family is from India. As far as my first name, my mom wanted to name me just Ash after Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai… so they took the shorter, more Canadian version of that, I guess.”
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Growing up, Ashley loved dancing to Bollywood songs and dressing up whenever she could. But her one true love was swimming. While she thought that she would pursue a career in swimming, after six years of winning numerous medals the youngster shifted her focus to acting. “I think being an athlete, you must push yourself to always work harder because you have this need to constantly evolve and improve. Once I fell in love with acting, I felt that way again. I am constantly pushing myself and trying to find ways to work on my craft. I think it also taught me resilience; in this industry, you must realise quickly that there are going to be a lot of challenges to overcome. When you’re an athlete and train eight times a week in addition to a full course load in school you have to learn to keep pushing and keep your head up all the time,” said the actress.
Interestingly, when she was younger, Ashley’s mother decided to send her to summer theater camp to help her overcome her shyness. “I was super shy and speaking to new people was extremely nerve-racking,” shared the actress, “Going to the camp pushed me out of my comfort zone. Imagine facing one of your biggest fears head-on. One of two things can happen, either you don’t respond well to it and find yourself not participating and sitting in the corner or you can try your best and see what happens. I’m glad I chose the second option. Once I broke the barrier and found my footing loved performing.”
Behind the scenes
After finishing school, the actress acted in several stage shows and eventually enrolled with an acting coach. “Her name is Christina Collins and she is the absolute best! She has been a part of my journey since the beginning and was the one who encouraged me to get an agent,” shared the actress, adding, “I also absolutely love acting classes, it’s honestly such a stress reliever and it’s also a fun way to meet other actors and creatives. I think it’s important to always keep working on your craft, there should never come a time where you feel you’ve learned everything. There is always something new to learn.”
Currently working on the second season of Grand Army, the actress shared that she fell in love with the role as soon as she read the script. “Meera is a badass. She is a young girl who is very firm in her beliefs and loves to challenge her parent’s old school mentality. She isn’t perfect, she makes mistakes, which is completely normal for a teenage girl but she handles situations so well. She’s bold and unashamed. She’s super close with her brother Sid but doesn’t like it when he interferes with her independence. I like her,” the Global Indian said.
“I’m currently figuring out my next project. My agent works hard and finds me great auditions and I am extremely grateful for her. In the meantime, I continue to work on my acting and I’m excited to see what lies next for me,” shared the actress talking about her future projects. Ask her what would be her advice to upcoming actors, and she quipped, “I would say to just be so passionate about life, and storytelling and don’t let anything stop you. It’s a tough industry and career path but if you believe in yourself enough you can accomplish whatever you set out to do. Keep your head up and don’t give up!”
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