He is among those rare actors who have found success — medium, no bar. Alongside a thriving film career, Anil Kapoor has made waves in TV (24), web films (AK vs AK, 2020; Thar, 2022), and now, a web show (The Night Manager/TNM), the second batch of episodes for which will soon start streaming.

The actor says the freedom to pick any medium didn’t come easy, despite his image today as an actor who can pull off most acting jobs with élan. “I think I have been fortunate. What happens is, you reap what you have sown in the past. I made a lot of sacrifices then, in order to make the right choices. I took risks; some clicked, some didn’t, then. Thus, looking at my body of work, filmmakers remember I can pull off roles, hence they offer them to me. It could not have been overnight that people started offering me different things,” he says.

Citing the international thriller 24, which he first starred in and then produced an Indian adaptation of, in 2013, he continues, “Whatever I learnt from that show — the mistakes and the good things, I used in TNM. If I didn’t have that experience, and hadn’t gone through what I did in 24, I wouldn’t have been able to share much. I would just be an actor who would come and act. We did only a few episodes for TNM — while for 24, we did it all in one go. And we swept every award for both seasons. So these things really help.”

Even beyond acting, a lot of ‘blood and sweat’ goes into creating defining characters, stresses Kapoor, who is looking forward to anticipated biggies Animal and Fighter. “I’ve worked with filmmakers and choreographers not feeling comfortable — and made them feel comfortable, adapting, learning, and using what I learnt,” the actor wraps up.