Noel De Souza
- Actor
- Make-Up Department
- Additional Crew
Noël De Souza grew up in Secunderbad in what is today the southern Indian state of Telangana. As a youth, he aspired to become a writer, first by submitting articles to his local newspaper and later writing reviews of Indian films. He entered the U.S. in 1948 to attend the University of California, Berkeley. While studying for a degree in architecture, he was hired by the Indian publication Cine Blitz to write about Hollywood, an activity he continued subsequently for the Times of India. Finding work hard to come by, he briefly returned the country of his birth to take up a managerial position with a paint company. Finding this job instantly distasteful, De Souza found himself back in the U.S. in 1955, determined to forge a career in Hollywood.
He began in show biz by taking an acting course at the Pasadena Playhouse. After Sabu, he became one of just two actors from India to have 'made it' in the film capital at this time, following his screen debut as a Mexican in an episode of Letter to Loretta (1953). Often typecast in exotic ethnic roles, he later declared: "So I usually ended up playing Mexicans or Italians.Talk about diversity! I'd have to change my parentage for every role." Nonetheless, De Souza had no trouble making himself known in show biz, due to long-standing friendships with American producer Stanley Rubin and French director Serge Bourguignon who helped him to meet "nearly every actor, actress and director in Hollywood". De Souza played supporting roles of diverse ethnicity in several movies. More often, he appeared as clerks, porters, chauffeurs, officers or doctors in such popular TV shows as Au-delà du réel (1963), Des agents très spéciaux (1964), Mission impossible (1966) to Dossiers brûlants (1974) and Star Trek: Voyager (1995) (as a holodeck simulation of Mahatma Gandhi.
In addition to acting, De Souza has continued to work as a freelance journalist and occasional interviewer of people associated with the film industry (including actors like George Clooney and Christian Bale). He was associated for some years with the Golden Globe Awards, maintaining an affiliation with the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and The Dick Clark Company, who, in collaboration, produce the prestigious Golden Globe Awards show. In 2016, he was nominated for an International Cinematographers Guild (ICG) Publicist Media Award.
He began in show biz by taking an acting course at the Pasadena Playhouse. After Sabu, he became one of just two actors from India to have 'made it' in the film capital at this time, following his screen debut as a Mexican in an episode of Letter to Loretta (1953). Often typecast in exotic ethnic roles, he later declared: "So I usually ended up playing Mexicans or Italians.Talk about diversity! I'd have to change my parentage for every role." Nonetheless, De Souza had no trouble making himself known in show biz, due to long-standing friendships with American producer Stanley Rubin and French director Serge Bourguignon who helped him to meet "nearly every actor, actress and director in Hollywood". De Souza played supporting roles of diverse ethnicity in several movies. More often, he appeared as clerks, porters, chauffeurs, officers or doctors in such popular TV shows as Au-delà du réel (1963), Des agents très spéciaux (1964), Mission impossible (1966) to Dossiers brûlants (1974) and Star Trek: Voyager (1995) (as a holodeck simulation of Mahatma Gandhi.
In addition to acting, De Souza has continued to work as a freelance journalist and occasional interviewer of people associated with the film industry (including actors like George Clooney and Christian Bale). He was associated for some years with the Golden Globe Awards, maintaining an affiliation with the Hollywood Foreign Press Association and The Dick Clark Company, who, in collaboration, produce the prestigious Golden Globe Awards show. In 2016, he was nominated for an International Cinematographers Guild (ICG) Publicist Media Award.
