She may be Manifest’s breakout star, but if things had gone a little differently, Parveen Kaur wouldn’t be on the phone talking to TV WEEK about her role on the show.
“The most recent pilot season was pretty busy for me,” the Canadian actress says. “But I auditioned for this one particular show and really wanted to get the gig. It felt like a once-in-a-lifetime role.
“I didn’t get it and was so upset – to the point where I didn’t get out of bed for two days and wanted to quit acting.”
In the midst of this funk, another script landed.
“That same week I got the script for Manifest,” she says. “I sent over my tape and the next day was on my way to New York to audition.
“Two days before that, I’d told my friends I was going to give up acting.”
Saanvi is a passenger aboard Flight 828 in Manifest.
Despite a reversal in her luck, Parveen couldn’t quite shake the nagging feeling that she wasn’t good enough.
“Even on the way to New York, I was thinking, ‘You’re not going to get it.’ It was the lowest I’ve been,” she says.
Parveen nailed the audition and a few days later had the role, joining the cast as medical researcher Saanvi Bahl, one of the passengers on Montego Air Flight 828.
“Saanvi is so resilient,” Parveen says. “She’s such a badass. That really appealed, because she doesn’t wait for anything. She’s exactly the person I needed to be in that moment, so it’s fitting.”
Saanvi’s parents haven’t seen her in five years.
On screen, Saanvi spends much of her time with Cal Stone, played by 10-year-old actor Jack Messina.
“He’s a phenomenon,” Parveen enthuses. “His imagination is so ripe and he hasn’t lost that wonder and amazement. I honestly feel like the cast is learning from him because he hasn’t been jaded yet by the industry.”
While Manifest hasn’t been officially greenlit for a second season, rave reviews have the cast optimistic they’ll be back.
“I’m very hopeful NBC will give us a second season,” Parveen says. “There’s so much to still find out!”
Manifest airs Wednesday, 8:30pm, on Nine Network.
