Get to Know Rahul Kohli, the Actor Behind Bly Manor's Lovable Chef With a Great Mustache

Rahul credits the Star Wars franchise for getting him interested in acting as a kid. According to The Cut, his obsession started when he got the Star Wars trilogy for his 11th birthday. He even went so far as to try to break into the Attack of the Clones set to deliver a letter to director George Lucas, asking to be an extra. Although he never made it past the studio's parking lot, his passion fuelled him to start looking for onscreen roles, and he never looked back.

Owen's iconic Bly Manor 'stache got plenty of love after the season premiere, and we all have Rahul to thank for that adjustment. "I auditioned with a beard because that's just what I normally have. And when I met Mike, he was like, 'I like this look, this is what we want,'" Rahul explained to GQ. "But our show is set in the '80s, so I had already been looking at pictures of my dad and my uncles in the same time period — being that they're of the same ethnicity — and they're all just rocking these pornstaches. So I said to Mike: 'I know it might not look good, it's not the most appealing thing in the world, but it might be the most accurate for the times and for who that character is.' It's somehow become its own character."

On Twitter, Rahul revealed that he likes to make playlists for the characters he's portraying. Owen's playlist, for example, included lots of '80s hits (appropriate for the era) and love songs to get him into the right mindset.

"A lot of them had to do with love. Lost love, or being in love with someone and not being able to communicate it properly," he told Vulture. "Obviously, everyone can relate — whether it's high school, or when you're older — to knowing that the person you're looking at could potentially be the love of your life. And you could have this incredible future together . . . but it's not happening. It's just not happening. I felt that Owen, in that time period, his release would be to throw on some '80s pop."

Don't know if anyone cares but I like to make playlists for characters I'm portraying. I usually start picking songs during prep that I'll listen to throughout shooting. Here was Owen's playlist 💕. #TheHauntingofBlyManor pic.twitter.com/qpOmaOZskv

— Rahul Kohli (@RahulKohli13) October 12, 2020

During Bly Manor, director Mike Flanagan recruited Rahul for another scary project: Midnight Mass. He's sworn to secrecy over the details, but admits the character he plays is different from anything he's done before.