Other works

He was in broadcast and print versions of the award-winning "Vytorin" ad, which artistically juxtaposed several people against various high-cholesterol foods. Wearing a bright yellow tie, Rao appeared in split-screen with a grilled cheese sandwich.

Appeared with Sarah Jessica Parker in promotions for the "Sex in the City" series on HBO.

(2014) How did a diplomat and an international attorney ended up being an actor in Hollywood? That's a good question to ask about Rao Rampilla based in NYC. He comes from a town called Vijayawada in the State of Andhra Pradesh, India. If anyone told him before he came to the United States that he would be an actor making a living in America, he himself would have been surprised. However, he has his imagination from the stories told to him by his aunt during his childhood and origins of his artistic roots in writing poetry in the middle of the night sitting on an old table before a kerosene lamp. Rao published them everyday in his paper Jai Andhra Vaani in support of the movement of the Telugu speaking people. In the final days of college, he even learned Carnatic music from a local teacher and played the role of poet in the play Neeru Poyandi. However, his family discouraged him to play the tiger or the monkey during the Dasara celebrations. Perhaps, that's where his playfulness lies. Having discouraged from doing monkey business or be a poet or a musician, he resorted to law and was inspired to become an International Attorney at the 34th floor of the United Nations. However, he ended up sitting on an indefinite hunger strike at the Nehru University in New Delhi in trying to secure social justice for Untouchables (Dalits). As you can imagine trouble is in the horizon and an expulsion is in order. You would have thought Rao would become a politician, instead he came to the US to become an international attorney. After studying with Late Dean Rusk, a former Secretary of State at Georgia, he reached New York. However, he joined the Native Americans (Seneca Nation of Indians) in their fight for self-determination and won a case for them on Casino gambling. Then he returned to NYC and got into the office of Legal Affairs, UN on the 34th floor of the United Nations having written a model affirmative action legislation for women in Latin America at the United Nations Development Program. While he met his longtime quest, it's temporary appointment. After a stint as a Special Counsel and a diplomat with Indonesia on war-crime issues, he moved on to work in and around the World Trade Center. Well, you know what happened. 9/11/2001 happened and after that he became jobless and penniless. When a couple of women sent him for audition he went in and smiled and booked the Superbowl Visa Commercial with Kevin Bacon and that's how he became an actor. Realizing that his Superbowl smile is not enough, he studied with Alan Arkin in his workshops in Santa Fe, Hawaii, New York and upon his advice has been working with Austin Pendleton of the Steppenwolf Theatre for the past 5 years studying classics beginning with Ibson, Strindberg and Chekhov. Adam Sandler liked his audition and gave him a chance to be on the set for That's My Boy. Mr. Sandler liked what Rao did and rewrote his part and gave him a supporting role working on and off for 3 months. That's how my friends, Rao became an actor. Then he got invited to the Cannes and Sundance Festivals and he traveled all over Europe exploring the roots of the American Acting. So it's not a surprise that he is having the time of his life and aspiring to play a role such as Dr. Zhivago.