Bodysuit by Sarah Regensburger
Gloves by Charles and Ron
Earrings by ONCH
Hats by Gladys Tamez Millinery

Mandeep Dhillon, an Indian-British actress, is best known for her role as Allie Rajan in CBS’s “CSI: Vegas,” now in its second season. She has appeared in stage, television, film, and radio productions, including the BBC Three comedy series “Some Girls” and “Fried.” She was featured in the British romantic comedy “Finding Fatimah” and “The City and the City.” She also portrayed Sandy in the Netflix Original dark-comedy “After Life,” having previously worked with Ricky Gervais in “David Brent: Life on the Road.”

**Left:**
Top by Nil & Mon
Pants by OTT
Shoes by No Name
Bag by Veganologie
Gloves and Beret by Uncuffed Leather
**Right:**
Bodysuit by Sarah Regensburger
Gloves by Charles and Ron
Heels by Barollo
Earrings by ONCH
Hats by Gladys Tamez Millinery

You decided to become an actress shortly before your 19th birthday . What inspired this decision?
I actually decided to become an actress much before my 19th birthday. It just took until I was 19 to get started professionally. When I was 18, I found myself on my first TV set ever, as a background artist for the show “The Inbetweeners.” I can remember looking at the four lead boys and thinking to myself, ‘I want that, I want to be where they are, as one of the leads of a TV show.’ Two years later I found myself on set again, but this time for “Some Girls,” where I was one of the four leads.

I think something happened on set that day when I was a background artist, it allowed me to visualize exactly where I wanted to see myself. Wild.

What attracts or guides you when choosing what roles to take?
I have to like the script. It has to be a well-rounded character. It’s funny because at the start of my career I was happy to take anything that came my way, but now I’m fortunate enough to be able to be selective about what art I want to create and be a part of. I also allow God to guide me too, in all that I do.

**Left:**
Dress and Hat by Bani Pasricha
Heels by Barollo
**Right:**
Set by ＦＥＬＥＰＰＡ
Heels by Barollo
Hats by Gladys Tamez Millinery

Both “Songbird” and “A Wonderful Christmastime” included improvisation. Is this a style of acting you enjoy? I love improvisation so much, especially for comedy projects. It is so much fun to be on set in the middle of a scene with the cameras rolling and have NO CLUE what is going to come out of your scene partner’s mouth, let alone your own mouth. A lot of my best work in comedy has come out of improvisation. In fact, that scene in, “David Brent: Life on the Road,” where my character starts crying talking to camera, which was all Improv, I was meant to sit down and be ‘funny’ during my ‘talking head’ scene, but instead, tears came out. Improvisation allows room for magic to be created.

What inspired your self-written monologue “Letter to my Future Self”?
Well, it was the lockdown, and I had been asked to perform a monologue to raise money for people in the arts who were being financially affected by the pandemic. But the only catch was, I couldn’t use a monologue that was too well known, for copyright reasons. So, I was like, ‘oh I will just create my own.’ I had been having a lot of therapy during that time and had just broken up with my ex, so I was in a raw and vulnerable place working through things. The monologue is meant to be called ‘a letter to my younger self’ but the person who uploaded it got it wrong and weirdly I liked that they got it wrong. Ha-ha.

**Left:**
Set by Rocky Star
Heels by Barollo
**Right:**
Top by Nil & Mon
Pants by OTT
Gloves and Beret by Uncuffed Leather

You worked as criminal investigators in both “The City and The City” and “CSI: Vegas.” Is this a genre you’re attracted to? What were the similarities and differences in approaching these two roles?
I am attracted to all sorts of genres as long as the story is good. In “The City and the City,” my character Corwi had a secret she had to keep for a long time and that was really fun to play that. It also meant that I was able to play two versions of her as she was pretending to be someone she isn’t for the majority of the show. Whereas with Allie in “CSI: Vegas,” she is who she says she is, and she is more passionate about finding the truth and justice for these victims and their families. She has a pure heart and isn’t trying to deceive anyone.

Now that you are going into a second season of “CSI: Vegas,” what is the process like of going back into the mindset of your character Allie Rajan?
Well, the first thing I did this year to get back into the mind of Allie, was to buy her a perfume. Allie and I took ourselves to Rodeo Drive and went shopping for a lovely new scent for her this season. She has gone through a breakup in the time between seasons, and she has been in LA, so I felt like she needed a bit of boujeeness. It’s been really easy to step back into the character though, to be fair. I like her and I enjoy playing her, so it makes it a lovely process.

**Left:**
Set by Rocky Star
Heels by Barollo
**Right:**
Dress and Hat by Bani Pasricha
Heels by Barollo

What can “CSI: Vegas” fans expect this new season?
Well firstly, CATHERINE WILLOWS IS BACK! There will be many deaths, obviously. A love triangle. New wonderful characters and a pretty epic storyline.

What was it like working with Ricky Gervais again on “After Life” after having worked with him on “David Brent: Life on the Road?”
Yeah, working with Ricky is always a pleasure. It felt very natural coming onto set for “After Life” as we had already built a rapport and were pals. On “Life on the Road,” we also got on pretty well, especially after that ‘talking head’ scene that I described earlier. In fact, I think that scene is what bonded us and gave him the idea to write a role for me in “After Life.”

**Left:**
Set by ＦＥＬＥＰＰＡ
Heels by Barollo
Hats by Gladys Tamez Millinery
**Right:**
Bodysuit by Sarah Regensburger
Gloves by Charles and Ron
Earrings by ONCH
Hats by Gladys Tamez Millinery

How does it feel to know Gervais wrote Sandy with you in mind?
It’s so surreal because he asked me so casually. I was at his home for one of his Christmas get-togethers, and he said ‘I have written a role for you in this new show I’m doing. She cries a lot, will you do it?, and then he laughed. And I just remember being like, ‘yeah sure, I love crying, let’s do it.’ I then forgot about it, as I was pretty merry, till my agent called me a month after and said, ‘so Netflix have reached out for this show “After Life” and that’s when I was like, ohhh, OK we are doing this, great! I mean the fact that anyone, let alone Ricky, would write a role for me is dope.

You were part of Star Wars: Episode IX “The Rise of Skywalker” as Lieutenant Garan. What was it like working on a Star Wars set?
I won’t lie, it was strange as I had no idea what I was doing, or who I was playing. I had gotten a call from the casting directors saying that JJ wanted me to do a cameo in the film and I said yes immediately with no further details. This meant that I had no idea what I was doing from the offset. I just remember my outfit being so tight and rigid and having to learn my lines on the morning of filming. I enjoyed working with Richard E Grant and telling him how much I loved him in the Spice Girls movie.

Are there any other upcoming projects we can look forward to?
I have a few shows in development at the moment and am currently pitching shows in the United States. My Production company ‘Hazy Plant Pictures’ is also in pre-production for a few short films that will be shot later this year and early next year. I am also in the music studio on my days off, creating my first EP. It’s a lot of fun.

Social Media.
Instagram: @mandidhillon!

**Left:**
Dress and Hat by Bani Pasricha
Heels by Barollo
**Right:**
Set by Rocky Star
Heels by Barollo

CREW CREDITS:
PhotoBook Editor-In-Chief: Alison Hernon
Creative Director: Mike Ruiz + @mikeruiz.one
Photographer: Sequoia Emmanuelle
Talent: Mandeep Dhillon
Fashion Stylist: Andrew Philip Nguyen
Hair: René Maldonado Cortez
Makeup: Tatiyana Elias
Tearsheets: Daniel López, Associate Art Director, PhotoBook Magazine
Interview: Uno, Contributor, PhotoBook Magazine