Interview: Khufiya actor Alexx O'Nell on balancing film career in India and making music along the journey

Vishal Bhardwaj’s latest feature, Khufiya, a thriller espionage drama starring Tabu, Wamiqa Gabbi, Ali Fazal in leading roles, is currently streaming on Netflix. The film is based on Amar Bhushan's espionage novel Escape to Nowhere and tells the story of a woman who ties up with Indian intelligence to get back at her husband who flees with her son after selling the country’s top secrets to the CIA. 

In a story that is both intriguing and keeps you guessing till the end, actor Alexx O’ Nell plays the character Dr. David White, a psychiatrist in the film who is at loggerheads with Tabu’s character at first, only to get on board to help the Indian intelligence agent get what she desires. Working with Tabu for the third time, first in Cheeni Kum and then in Urumi, Alexx is happy that he finally got to share the screen with Tabu and take into the artistry of her acting. 

Speaking to WION, Alexx O'Nell, the American actor-cum-musician opened up about making a career in films, his passion for music, and what’s keeping him busy these days. Excerpts: 

WION: We recently saw you in Khufiya, another one of your stellar performances. How are you taking in all the appreciation? 

Alexx: Honestly, I have been traveling constantly and shooting for my upcoming films including L2E, Captain Miller, Pokhirajer Dim, and others, deep in the interiors of Bihar as well as the Himalayas and elsewhere, so I haven't really had much of an opportunity, or strong enough signal, to read reviews as much as I usually would. Nevertheless, I have been receiving seemingly endless messages from friends and well-wishers appreciating my performance in Khufiya, and the film as a whole.

Working with Vishal Bhardwaj and such a stellar cast in Khufiya

WION: How did you prep for the role? 

Alexx: Like many characters in Khufiya, Dr. White is a spy. And though some might consider him negative, I would argue that, just like Tabu's KM who works for R&AW, Dr. White is simply doing his patriotic and professional duty for his intelligence agency, the CIA. With that said, he is not one-dimensional. Vishal Ji's take on the spy thriller presents undercover agents in, what I believe is, a rather realistic way. Each of them has a believable cover, including a family and a profession, and Dr. White is no exception. 

WION: This isn’t your first time working with Tabu. What can you tell us about your experience working with Tabu, Ali Fazal, and Wamiq Gabbi – the three actors you have most screentime with?  

Alexx: Unfortunately, while Wamiqa and I are sometimes in the same frame, I don't think our characters exchanged a single word… Nevertheless, when I saw her performance in the final edit I was absolutely stunned by her magical screen presence.

Ali was a joy to work with. Khufiya was the first time we'd worked together and I hope not the last. Beyond being a wonderful scene partner, he's also an incredibly friendly guy.

My interaction with Tabu was a long time coming. We were credited together in two films previously, Cheeni Kum and Urumi, but finally, on this third try, I got my long-awaited chance to work in a frame with this phenomenal performer. Of all my interactions on Khufiya, I most fondly remember working with Vishal Ji and Tabu on the climax scene in which Dr. White and KM, at last, come face-to-face. What was on the page, and what you eventually see on the screen, are very very different, and it was truly a privilege to collaborate with these two incredible artists on making that happen.

54 IMDb credits and no stereotype?

WION: Do you think that you have been stereotyped in films because you look a certain way and if you ever get similar kinds of roles? 

Alexx: I recently sat with a journalist and, in response to a similar question, went one by one through each of my 54 IMDb credits. It was a sort of audit of the types of films and series I've done over the past 15 years and the kinds of roles that I've played. It won't come as much of a surprise that all of my characters were male, and all of them were white, but by and large that is where their similarities ended.

Just looking at the last five years or so I have played an American Sanskrit musician and student of the Bhagavad Gita in Aarya, an American journalist in Roohi, an American plane crash survivor in Robindronath Ekhane Kawkhono Khete Aashenni, a British military man and footballer in Golondaaj, an American backpacker in Sweet Kaaram Coffee, and an American psychiatrist and spy in Khufiya.

So, if the stereotype is British, only 1 of my last 6 has been so. If the stereotype is historical/ colonial, again, 1 in the last 6. If the stereotype is 'negative', I would say 1, but you could argue for 2 in the last 6.

To me, more important even than the roles I've played and how similar or different they may have been, is the incredible journey that they represent. In these projects alone, I shared scenes with such amazing actors like Rajkummar Rao, Varun Sharma, Janhvi Kapoor, Sushmita Sen, Badhon, Dev Adhikari, Madhoo, Ali Fazal, and Tabu! I collaborated with some of the finest directors in the world including Ram Madhvani, Hardik Mehta, Srijit Mukherjee, Dhrubo Banerjee, and Vishal Bhardwaj! And, I was an integral part of telling stories enjoyed by millions and millions of people! As an actor, what else could I even ask for, but that this adventure continue?

Watch Wamiqa Gabbi's exclusive interview with WION here:

Following his passion for music

WION: What can you tell us about your career in music? 

Alexx: I suppose my journey really began when I was very young - I would dig through my mom's old '45 records of bands like The Beatles, Peter Paul & Mary, and Simon & Garfunkel, and I fell in love with hits from the 60s and 70s. Around the age of 14, I began teaching myself how to play the guitar. I quickly began using the chords and I learned to make up my own progressions, melodies, and lyrics, and started recording my first songs on a tape deck.

While I experimented with some digital recording software, it took me a very long time to figure out how music production works, and I eventually realised I needed to find a producer to help me. Thus, I only began professionally recording in 2017 or 2018 when I met well-known Mumbai-based producer Bharat Goel. Finally, the songs were good, and I even signed a record deal with a major music label, but I kept delaying the release of my first album.

Then the pandemic hit, my film and series shoots were postponed indefinitely, the music label and I parted ways and I had my music back, and I had this intense feeling that it was 'now or never'. It was on 16 April 2020 that my debut single “Still On My Mind” was finally out on all streaming platforms worldwide, with the music video featuring myself and actress Shama Sikander on my Official Artist Channel. 

This continued and after I released my third single and music video, “Twenty Days” in 2021, I decided to look back on my musical journey so far. To be honest, it just wasn't making the kind of impact I had expected. Millions of people enjoy my films and series, I just couldn't understand why they weren't interested in my songs. I concluded that while I still wanted to make my music available to the Indian market via domestic platforms, I also wanted to focus on an English-speaking region where my music might be more widely appreciated.

Over the years, I had begun spending more and more time in South Africa, mainly for paragliding, scuba diving, and riding motorcycles, and decided to begin producing my music with David Pearce and DJ Cosher whom I had met there. The first song resulting from this collaboration was “These Four Walls”, out on 14th July 2023. 

WION: You recently released an acoustic version of your single “These Four Walls”. Can you tell us about the creative process behind this?

Alexx: My process of creating music always begins acoustically. I sit alone with an acoustic guitar, focus on a moment, and strum chords and hum melodies until something strikes me as beautiful enough to keep repeating. Usually, I begin with the chorus and work backward to the verses. It's a process that hasn't really changed for as long as I've been composing - only the experiences that I write about have developed over time. 

So, the first iteration of the song is always just a guitar and my voice and, in that sense, the acoustic version of “These Four Walls” which at its most complex features a kick drum, a cello, two guitars, and vocals, is much closer to how the song originally sounded than the electro-pop main release. It was recorded here in India with my friend, the producer Debarpito Saha who, coincidentally, also did the music for Khufiya.

“These Four Walls - Acoustic” like all of my music, is available not only on international platforms like Spotify and Amazon, but also the services most popular in India like Hungama, Gaana, Saavn, etc.

WION:  What next?

Alexx: I'm incredibly fortunate to be able to say that both as a musician and as an actor there is quite a lot happening.

I have begun work on L2: Empuraan with Prithviraj and Mohanlal, and at the moment I'm in Ladakh shooting for the same film. Alongside L2 I have about a dozen projects that are in various stages of completion. Some of the most exciting are Dharmatic’s feature film Ae Watan Mere Watan in which I star alongside Sarah Ali Khan, the Amazon Original Series Bak Bak with Divya Dutta, and the Ananth Mahadevan Film Phule in which I worked with Pratik Gandhi and Patralekha, to name just a few. I'm incredibly excited for 2024. 

On the music front, I'll be headed to Cape Town in November to put the finishing touches on my 6th single and music video entitled “Pride”. I'm looking forward to sharing more about that soon, and hopefully releasing it before the end of the year.

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