Malhotra’s career has developed across many kinds of performance. He began as an actor on stage and screen, then built a substantial body of voice-over work in animation and games. His own biography describes a creative path that also includes music, community work, and audiobook narration. This profile looks at his background, training, career highlights, and the significance of his casting as Apu.
Sunil Malhotra at a Glance
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Full name | Sunil Malhotra |
| Birth date | October 20, 1975 |
| Age | 51, as of October 2026 |
| Birthplace | New Delhi, India |
| Raised in | Skokie, Illinois, near Chicago |
| Nationality | American |
| Profession | Actor and voice artist |
| Education | Indiana University, Theatre & Drama |
| Known for | Prince Wu in The Legend of Korra; Apu on The Simpsons |
| Other work | Animation, video games, film, television, theater, and audiobooks |
Early Life and Background
Malhotra was born in New Delhi, India, and moved to the United States as an infant. He grew up in Skokie, a suburb of Chicago. On his official website, he describes his family’s move with humor, saying he “crash landed” in Chicago at six months old. The phrase is playful, but it points to a real part of his background: he grew up in the United States while retaining a connection to his Indian heritage.
His childhood interests were not limited to acting. Malhotra’s official biography mentions music as an early influence, including playing trombone and guitar and working as a radio DJ. He also had an interest in law and justice. A college theater audition changed his direction, drawing him toward performance and storytelling.
That change of focus led him to study theater at Indiana University. Malhotra graduated cum laude from the university’s Theatre & Drama program. His formal training gave him a foundation in acting that would later support work across live performance, television, film, animation, and interactive media.
From Theater to Acting
After graduating, Malhotra moved to New York City to pursue acting. His early professional life included theater and film work, as well as collaboration with other South Asian actors and filmmakers. This period helped him build experience in front of an audience and on camera before his voice-over career became a major part of his résumé.
His screen credits include appearances in television series such as Cold Case, House, 24, and Grey’s Anatomy, along with film roles. Those live-action credits show that he is not exclusively a voice actor. He has worked in multiple parts of the entertainment industry, shifting between character acting, voice performance, and other creative roles.
Malhotra’s career reflects the variety of work that many working actors take on. A performer may move from a guest role on a television drama to an animation recording session, a stage production, or a video game. Each format calls for different techniques: live-action acting relies on physical presence and camera work, while voice acting depends on vocal choices, timing, and the ability to suggest character without appearing on screen.
Building a Voice-Acting Career
Voice acting became one of Malhotra’s most visible areas of work. He has voiced characters in animated series, feature-length animation, video games, and children’s programming. His official site describes roles ranging from a talking tiger truck to fantasy characters and figures in the Star Wars universe.
One of his best-known animation roles is Prince Wu in Nickelodeon’s The Legend of Korra, the animated continuation of the Avatar: The Last Airbender universe. Prince Wu is a young royal who becomes involved in the political upheaval of the Earth Kingdom. Malhotra’s performance balances the character’s comic self-confidence with the broader story’s political stakes.
He has also voiced characters in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, The Legend of Vox Machina, and Blaze and the Monster Machines. The roles range widely in tone, from action and fantasy to comedy and preschool animation. That range is characteristic of voice work, where an actor may need to create distinctly different personalities from one project to the next.
Video Game Roles
Malhotra’s voice work extends into video games, an area where performances are recorded for dialogue, story sequences, and gameplay. His credits include Halo: Reach, Mortal Kombat, League of Legends, Valorant, and other games, according to his professional biography.
Game voice acting can involve recording the same lines in multiple emotional styles or producing short vocal reactions that respond to a player’s actions. Some projects also require motion capture or coordination with other performers. The work is often less visible to audiences than a live-action role, but it can reach millions of players and become closely tied to the identity of a character.
For Malhotra, the combination of animation and game roles has allowed him to work in several parts of the voice-over industry. His voice can be heard in children’s entertainment, fantasy stories, science-fiction franchises, and competitive games, giving his résumé a breadth that is not always apparent from a single credit.
Voicing Apu on The Simpsons
In October 2026, Malhotra became the new voice of Apu Nahasapeemapetilon on The Simpsons. The character returned to the series after years without a speaking role, and Malhotra voiced him alongside Janina Gavankar, who voiced Apu’s wife, Manjula, in the episode.
The casting attracted attention because Apu had been at the center of public debate about representation and racial stereotypes. Comedian Hari Kondabolu’s 2017 documentary, The Problem with Apu, examined the character’s impact on South Asian Americans. Hank Azaria, who had voiced Apu for years, later stepped away from the role.
The Associated Press reported that Malhotra and Gavankar described the new performance as a reclamation and homecoming for the character. Malhotra also said that the audition initially made him uneasy, while prompting him to consider whether the character could return in a way that acknowledged past criticism and gave South Asian performers a meaningful role in shaping the portrayal.
The episode did not end the wider conversation about representation, but it marked a significant change in who was voicing Apu. The decision reflects a broader shift in animation toward casting actors whose backgrounds connect with the characters they portray. Malhotra’s involvement brought his own perspective as an Indian American performer to a character whose portrayal had been debated for years.
Audiobooks, Theater, and Community Work
Malhotra’s work includes audiobook narration, an area that calls for sustained focus and the ability to distinguish characters through voice. Narrators must carry a story across many hours while maintaining clarity, pacing, and emotional continuity. His official biography lists titles such as Cutting for Stone, Eleanor & Park, and When Breath Becomes Air among projects connected to his narration work.
He has continued to work in theater and has taken part in community-focused efforts. His biography notes that he has organized with fellow union members, co-founded grassroots organizations, and mentored or coached others. These activities sit alongside his entertainment career and show an interest in contributing beyond performance work.
Personal Life
Malhotra keeps much of his personal life relatively private. His official biography says he and his wife have made a home in Los Angeles and are raising children. Rather than focusing on unverified personal details, it is more useful to understand the public facts he has shared: his Indian birth, upbringing near Chicago, theater education, and long career across acting and voice work.
Career Highlights
| Project | Area | Why It Stands Out |
|---|---|---|
| The Legend of Korra | Animation | Voiced Prince Wu, a recurring character in the Avatar universe |
| Star Wars: The Clone Wars | Animation | Voiced characters in the Star Wars animated series |
| Blaze and the Monster Machines | Children’s television | Voiced Stripes in the animated series |
| The Legend of Vox Machina | Animation | Voiced Gilmore in the fantasy series |
| Halo: Reach | Video game | One of his notable game voice credits |
| Valorant | Video game | Part of his work in contemporary multiplayer games |
| The Simpsons | Animation | Became the voice of Apu in the character’s 2026 return |
| Audiobook narration | Audio publishing | Includes fiction and nonfiction titles across genres |
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is Sunil Malhotra?
Sunil Malhotra is an Indian-born American actor and voice artist. He works in animation, video games, television, film, theater, and audiobook narration.
How old is Sunil Malhotra?
Public entertainment databases list his birth date as October 20, 1975, which makes him 51 as of October 2026.
Where was Sunil Malhotra born?
He was born in New Delhi, India, and moved to the United States as an infant. He grew up in Skokie, Illinois, near Chicago.
What did Sunil Malhotra study?
He studied Theatre & Drama at Indiana University and graduated cum laude.
What character did Sunil Malhotra voice in The Legend of Korra?
He voiced Prince Wu, a young royal who becomes involved in the Earth Kingdom’s political transition.
Is Sunil Malhotra the new voice of Apu?
Yes. In 2026, Malhotra voiced Apu in the character’s return to The Simpsons. Janina Gavankar voiced Manjula in the same episode.
Why did the new Apu casting receive attention?
Apu’s portrayal had been criticized as a stereotype, and the character had not spoken on the show for years. The new casting of South Asian American performers renewed discussion about representation and who gets to shape such characters.
What video games has Sunil Malhotra worked on?
His game credits include titles such as Halo: Reach, Mortal Kombat, League of Legends, and Valorant. Individual roles vary by project.
Does Sunil Malhotra do audiobook narration?
Yes. His professional biography lists audiobook narration among his work, with titles including Cutting for Stone and When Breath Becomes Air.
Final Word
Sunil Malhotra has built a wide-ranging career through acting, voice performance, and storytelling across different media. From Prince Wu in The Legend of Korra to video game characters and audiobook narration, his work reaches audiences in many formats.
His casting as Apu on The Simpsons brought new attention to both his career and the ongoing conversation about representation in entertainment. Malhotra’s experience as an Indian American actor gives the role a new context, while his larger body of work shows a performer whose career extends well beyond any single character.