KAHLIL JOSEPH'S BIOGRAPHY
Kahlil Joseph, in addition to being a working actor and enjoying teaching Voice & Speech at the Tom Todoroff Studio, is the Professor of Voice & Speech for the Senior Acting & Musical Theater track at UCLA's prestigious School of Theater, Film & Television. He also coaches professional actors privately, one-on-one (some of his clients being stars Jason Connery/SHANGHAI NOON; Rachel Grant/DIE ANOTHER DAY; Izabella Miko/COYOTE UGLY; Rachel Shelley/THE L WORD, LAGAAN; Ray Winstone/BEOWULF; Lymari Nadal/AMERICAN GANGSTER), as well as teaches children at Gray Studios in Sherman Oaks. Furthermore, he is certified to teach full contact martial arts (multiple system self defense) and currently instructs at Ekata Martial Arts & Fitness Inc. in Valencia.
Kahlil is originally from New Delhi, India, though he has traveled and lived in many countries from an early age - Australia, England, the United States, Canada, and more. He was introduced to the stage at five by his father, playing Noah in a production of Noah's Ark in Sydney, Australia. Kahlil had an extremely keen ear for sound since childhood, and would continually mimic everyone and everything he could. This was the humble beginning of his career as an actor with a specialty in voice and speech. By the age of 9, trained extensively in voice and diction by his father and well read through his mother, Kahlil was consistently winning inter-school declamation and debate championships, which continued till the time he was 17.
Simultaneously, inspired at the age of 7 by how the legendary Bruce Lee in Enter The Dragon so thoroughly and honestly expressed himself through his physicality and movement, Kahlil studied many martial arts, fought competitively on a full-contact amateur level, and now trains in and teaches multiple-system self-defense, consisting of Muay Thai, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and Savate, all based on the philosophy of Jeet Kune Do, created by none other than Bruce Lee. From fighting in the ring to practicing, Kahlil found a huge similarity between martial arts and acting - one has to be totally truthful, vulnerable and committed to one's actions in order to wholly achieve one's objective.
Kahlil earned his first B.A. in English Literature from the University of Delhi, India. During his degree, as the lead singer for various heavy metal/hard rock bands in New Delhi, he learned and developed a strong respect during this time for such a type of singer, whom he believes needs even more vocal and physical strength and resilience than a speaker or singer of another genre. Following college, Kahlil was immediately cast as Jean Valjean in a Delhi production of the acclaimed Broadway musical Les Miserables, which not only turned out to be his biggest musical theater success in New Delhi, but also improved his singing and speaking voice remarkably. That scored him a steady recurring role as the antagonistic fashion designer Ronaldo on an Indian prime-time TV drama, Khwahish. He also played Zach in A Chorus Line.
Yet, since Hollywood beckoned Kahlil, he headed to Concord University in Athens, West Virginia, graduating Summa Cum Laude with his second B.A., this time in Communication Arts (Theater & Broadcasting). From the time he set foot down in the U.S., Kahlil managed to consistently break ethnic and racial bounds as an actor through his quick ability with multiple accents, getting cast in many roles that were not originally written for an Indian actor, worked professionally in the vocally demanding arena of outdoor drama and film, learned to ride horses, choreograph fights for the stage and film, and got accepted into a competitive graduate class of 10 actors at the prestigious UCLA's School of Theater, Film & Television, where he earned his Master of Fine Arts in Acting.
Since his move to Los Angeles, Kahlil steadily finds good work as an actor on film, television and stage, his favorite credits so far being 24 and Days of Our Lives on television, La Linea and Special Ops: Delta Force on film and The Road To Damascus and Twelfth Night on stage.
Kahlil uses a combination of unorthodox and orthodox methods in his teaching of Voice & Speech. He is trained, among other disciplines, in IPA, Linklater, Skinner, Alexander Technique, Combat for Film & Stage, and movement; yet, he also uses singing and martial arts techniques in vocal and diction techniques. Kahlil Joseph truly cares for his students and teaches from a very practical standpoint, making sure that his students can always see the direct application of a seemingly abstract concept of Voice & Speech to their acting work.
Kahlil is originally from New Delhi, India, though he has traveled and lived in many countries from an early age - Australia, England, the United States, Canada, and more. He was introduced to the stage at five by his father, playing Noah in a production of Noah's Ark in Sydney, Australia. Kahlil had an extremely keen ear for sound since childhood, and would continually mimic everyone and everything he could. This was the humble beginning of his career as an actor with a specialty in voice and speech. By the age of 9, trained extensively in voice and diction by his father and well read through his mother, Kahlil was consistently winning inter-school declamation and debate championships, which continued till the time he was 17.
Simultaneously, inspired at the age of 7 by how the legendary Bruce Lee in Enter The Dragon so thoroughly and honestly expressed himself through his physicality and movement, Kahlil studied many martial arts, fought competitively on a full-contact amateur level, and now trains in and teaches multiple-system self-defense, consisting of Muay Thai, Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu, and Savate, all based on the philosophy of Jeet Kune Do, created by none other than Bruce Lee. From fighting in the ring to practicing, Kahlil found a huge similarity between martial arts and acting - one has to be totally truthful, vulnerable and committed to one's actions in order to wholly achieve one's objective.
Kahlil earned his first B.A. in English Literature from the University of Delhi, India. During his degree, as the lead singer for various heavy metal/hard rock bands in New Delhi, he learned and developed a strong respect during this time for such a type of singer, whom he believes needs even more vocal and physical strength and resilience than a speaker or singer of another genre. Following college, Kahlil was immediately cast as Jean Valjean in a Delhi production of the acclaimed Broadway musical Les Miserables, which not only turned out to be his biggest musical theater success in New Delhi, but also improved his singing and speaking voice remarkably. That scored him a steady recurring role as the antagonistic fashion designer Ronaldo on an Indian prime-time TV drama, Khwahish. He also played Zach in A Chorus Line.
Yet, since Hollywood beckoned Kahlil, he headed to Concord University in Athens, West Virginia, graduating Summa Cum Laude with his second B.A., this time in Communication Arts (Theater & Broadcasting). From the time he set foot down in the U.S., Kahlil managed to consistently break ethnic and racial bounds as an actor through his quick ability with multiple accents, getting cast in many roles that were not originally written for an Indian actor, worked professionally in the vocally demanding arena of outdoor drama and film, learned to ride horses, choreograph fights for the stage and film, and got accepted into a competitive graduate class of 10 actors at the prestigious UCLA's School of Theater, Film & Television, where he earned his Master of Fine Arts in Acting.
Since his move to Los Angeles, Kahlil steadily finds good work as an actor on film, television and stage, his favorite credits so far being 24 and Days of Our Lives on television, La Linea and Special Ops: Delta Force on film and The Road To Damascus and Twelfth Night on stage.
Kahlil uses a combination of unorthodox and orthodox methods in his teaching of Voice & Speech. He is trained, among other disciplines, in IPA, Linklater, Skinner, Alexander Technique, Combat for Film & Stage, and movement; yet, he also uses singing and martial arts techniques in vocal and diction techniques. Kahlil Joseph truly cares for his students and teaches from a very practical standpoint, making sure that his students can always see the direct application of a seemingly abstract concept of Voice & Speech to their acting work.