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Actor Rohan Mirchandaney (La Brea) has traveled the world playing Pokemon Go. It’s not as crazy as it sounds.
Romen (00:00)
Welcome! We are here with Rohan Mirchandaney. Rohan is a very successful actor. You probably recognize him from La Brea. That was on NBC.
Rohan Mirchandaney (00:09)
Thank you, nice to be here man.
Romen (00:12)
Thank you so much for coming. As we both know, people are trying to guess your accent right now. Why don’t you just make it easy for them and tell us.
Rohan Mirchandaney (00:20)
Of course. My accent is Australian. I was born and raised in Melbourne, Australia and have recently moved to Los Angeles.
Romen (00:28)
You came here for acting?
Rohan Mirchandaney (00:30)
That’s right. Yes. After La Brea, I felt a calling to come and roll the dice in Los Angeles. And it’s been a pleasant experience ever since. I’m really happy I did it. LA feels like home in a way that Melbourne never did.
Romen (00:44)
Really? Why do you think that is?
Rohan Mirchandaney (00:49)
Something about the city and I think something about me being in my 30s and discovering Los Angeles now is I’m just coming in at the right time for me.
Romen (01:00)
That’s really great. When I moved to LA at first, I felt a little intimidated because there were a lot of people in their early 20s
Rohan Mirchandaney (01:10)
You know what? I don’t think about it that much and it might be me being really naive, but I’ve always felt a youthfulness despite whatever age I am. I’ve noticed that I still feel like I’ve got a lot of energy inside me. I’ve got a lot of excitement and I love exploring new places. I really love finding what makes the place work in a local community and I do that all over the world.
I’ve been really lucky to travel so much and LA is the place that’s spoken to me the most.
Romen (01:41)
We’re gonna get to your travel in a moment because I find it fascinating and I know our listeners will. But a little more on your boyish good looks I think is why you feel so youthful is because you look very youthful among other things. Do you get cast in roles that are younger than your actual age?
Rohan Mirchandaney (02:01)
Now that you mention it, the majority of auditions that I’ve had and the roles that I’ve played have been younger. Yeah, well, that’s really interesting, you know? I think I have got this essence about me, this this ragamuffin, this kind of like rough around the edges, this underdog type of character that really resonates with lot of people.
Romen (02:24)
Tell us about your La Brea character. And do you mind giving us just like a quick synopsis of what La Brea was.
Rohan Mirchandaney (02:30)
Of course, yeah, La Brea was a action adventure sci-fi series about a sinkhole that opens up in the middle of Los Angeles, the biggest sinkhole in the world. And everything that fell inside got transported back in time to 10,000 BC. So a lot of people have to work together to try and figure out how they got there, why they got there, was it a mistake? Will it happen again? And what are the secrets this new prehistoric world holds?
Romen (02:58)
And tell us about your character and the question everyone’s wondering: Did you speak in your native voice or did you adopt an American accent or otherwise?
Rohan Mirchandaney (03:09)
Sure, sure. So the character that I played was a student and an archaeological expert. He was fascinated with prehistoric times and so being in 10,000 BC was just this guy’s in his element, you know, he’s putting the pieces together in a really natural way and he’s just excited to be there because this is something he never could have dreamed of.
So my character’s name was Scott Israni and I did get to play an Australian, which was very fun. I felt quite represented and seen and didn’t feel the pressures of having to kind of work with an American accent, even though I auditioned with an American accent. During the callback when I was, yeah, yeah, yeah. Most of my auditions in Australia have been in an American accent and that was one of the reasons I was like, you know what, maybe LA has got my name on it. Maybe I should be going over there.
Romen (03:53)
That’s so interesting.
Well, you know, some of the actors, some of the other actors I’ve talked to out here who are Indian are told to do an accent and that means put on this BS character Indian accent. Whereas when you’re told to do an accent, that means an American accent. So that’s a fun departure unless you also get asked to do an Indian accent.
Rohan Mirchandaney (04:21)
Mm-hmm. yeah, yeah, absolutely. Don’t get me wrong, I certainly get asked to do an Indian accent very often. Yeah, and I don’t see that stopping any time soon And I actually have done an Indian accent in a film. I worked on Hotel Mumbai, which shot in India and also in Australia. And the director thought that I was from India when we actually met in person after my audition, which was really interesting.
Romen (04:54)
That’s amazing. Did you sort of just keep the charade going and never drop the accent even when you were hanging around?
Rohan Mirchandaney (04:59)
No, no I didn’t. I certainly didn’t.
Romen (05:02)
Actually when you were playing, like, an archeological expert, did that require you in your real life to have to figure a lot of things out and do research?
Rohan Mirchandaney (05:13)
I started to actually, I started to put a lot of effort into research and learning. But the show that we worked on was an NBC show. was Network show. So there wasn’t a lot of focus on that kind of attention to detail. It was more about the plot and the relationships of the characters. So learned pretty early onwards that that wasn’t the focus of the show.
Romen (05:37)
That makes sense. This was not for the History Channel, this show. Okay, so you have a very specific hobby. You are a Pokemon Go aficionado, is that correct?
Rohan Mirchandaney (05:39)
Yeah, you can say that. That is absolutely correct. Yes, Pokemon Go, the mobile phone game that came out in July 2016. I have been playing that game every single day since to this day.
Romen (06:06)
Every single day since it came out in 2016?
Rohan Mirchandaney (06:09)
Yes, every single day. For minimum of like two hours a day. I am hooked. I am hooked.
Romen (06:14)
Okay, so for those who might be unfamiliar, could you tell us just like in broad strokes, what is Pokemon Go?
Rohan Mirchandaney (06:25)
Pokemon Go is a walking game, I would say. It’s a collecting game, it’s a battling game, it’s a territory domination game as well. It really is just about getting you out of the house. The map of the world is the map of the game, and when you physically move in the world, that’s when your character moves in the game. So if you’re not moving, you’re not really advancing. And that has helped me get out of the house. Especially during COVID. It’s helped me discover a lot of special places in the new city when I get to visit. And I get to visit a lot of new cities for work, thankfully. So I like to think sometimes that work has paid me to play.
Romen (07:10)
Look, I have heard of lot more destructive hobbies than than Pokemon Go. Do you travel specifically for Pokemon Go ever?
Rohan Mirchandaney (07:23)
Yes, I do. Yes. In 2017, Pokemon Go started these festivals, these annual festivals that they would hold in three cities around the world. One in America, one in Asia, and one in Europe. And since 2018, I’ve been coming to the ones in America. Chicago, New York, Las Vegas, and even at the Rose Bowl in LA.
Romen (07:51)
So you would, when you were living in Australia, you would get on a plane and travel to the United States, to Chicago or New York, say, just to play Pokemon Go.
Rohan Mirchandaney (08:03)
Yes, the first time I did that was in 2018, where I went to Chicago for the first time. I told my agents in Australia that I would be visiting America and they said, we’ll reach out to our connections over there and see if there’s any interest for you. And if there is, go to LA and have those meetings. So I was able to combine that Pokemon trip with a work trip and managed to get representation out of it in America.
Romen (08:29)
So just to recap, you came to the US to play Pokemon Go and left that trip with a manager or with agents?
Rohan Mirchandaney (08:38)
That’s correct, yes it is.
Romen (08:41)
So you have Pikachu to thank for your successful career?
Rohan Mirchandaney (08:46)
Pikachu and Charizard. Yep. yeah.
Romen (08:49)
This is truly fascinating to me. Can you walk us through, like, you get off the plane, you’re holding your, the Pokemon Go app is open, is there like a Pokemon Master waiting for you with your name on a sign, at the airport?
Rohan Mirchandaney (09:07)
Good question. In the early days there wasn’t, but now when I do revisit a city that I’ve already been to and made those friends and connections the previous trip, a lot of the time they are more than happy to come and pick me up from wherever I need and drive me around and show me around their home, their city. Yeah, I’ve met a lot of friends from this game ranging from 14 years old to 80 years old.
And that’s just been really fascinating, finding the different types of people that play this game and their backgrounds and how everyone’s approach is so different. I learn a lot about people, I learn a lot about myself, and I learn a lot about the world playing the game.
Romen (09:51)
Wow, could you tell us about this 80 year old you’ve met playing Pokemon Go? Because I don’t know. I don’t think any of the 80 year olds in my life could like open the Google Maps app, let alone the Pokemon Go app.
Rohan Mirchandaney (09:57)
Absolutely. Oh yeah, this was a really, really fascinating experience. I was in Las Vegas playing an event in February, I think it was 2023, and I saw this lady playing the game and it was a really hot day and we were in the park and I said hi to her. Her name was Crystal. She was playing two accounts, one for herself and one for her husband. But her husband wasn’t anywhere to be seen. She was holding two phones. She was holding two phones.
Romen (10:30)
Was she holding two phones?
Rohan Mirchandaney (10:36)
And it turns out that her husband had passed away three years ago. And that was something that they did together. They both played the game and would go on for walks together. He was in a wheelchair, so they would always be together. And he found the game really fascinating. He would call them critters. He wasn’t as into it as much as Crystal, but the time that they spent together was really around the game and getting out into the world and walking. So…
to keep his memory alive. Crystal keeps playing his account to this day. I added her secondary account and I send gifts and I trade Pokemon to both those accounts and Crystal lives in California so I was lucky enough to be invited to go visit her in her hometown and I spent some time with her. It was really nice. It was really lovely.
Romen (11:29)
That is so sweet. That is like touching. That’s such an incredibly touching story.
Rohan Mirchandaney (11:31)
It was really, yeah, I gotta show you some photos sometime. It’s something else, yeah.
Romen (11:37)
I mean, I also, and I truly don’t mean to be as disparaging as this sounds, but like, my initial feelings about Pokemon might’ve been that it’s just a bunch of like, male nerds with no social skills sitting around playing a video game. This sounds very different from what I was imagining. Is that the case, or are there still plenty of male nerds sitting around playing a video game?
Rohan Mirchandaney (12:02)
You know what I’ve noticed? That this game is really social and it appeals to all different types. I’ve seen families play together. I’ve actually met a family who was like, get in the car. We’re going to play Pokemon. This was in Australia in Kananara. I shot a television series called Mystery Road in that remote part of Australia. And it was a really interesting way to meet the locals. know, it was a, it was a town that had only one street. Really small town and somehow I was able to find the other players just from playing the game. So I don’t think it’s just lonely men playing the game. ⁓ Like you said, I’ve really noticed all sorts of people. It’s incredible.
Romen (12:53)
Do you make any money off this? Cause it sounds like you spend a lot of money on it traveling all over the world.
Rohan Mirchandaney (12:59)
No, no, no. It was really important to me to not try and get any financial return from playing the game. I think I would take away my love for it and what made me connected to it in the first place, it takes the pressure off as well. I can really just focus on playing and connecting with people rather than my income.
Romen (13:22)
It definitely sounds like you’ve gotten a ton out of it. Cool experiences, new friends, ⁓ something that forces you to exercise and walk around. Has it detracted from your life in any way? Has it gotten in the way of, you know, responsibilities or work or relationships?
Rohan Mirchandaney (13:42)
Good question. I’d like to think that as Pokemon evolve, we as humans also need to evolve and adapt. And I think I’ve really kind of had to make some changes in my life to accommodate for other people and responsibilities. But I think I’ve found a great balance and a great mix of being able to accomplish all of those things simultaneously.
Romen (14:15)
Well, based on the success of your career, it certainly seems like you have, and your friendships. And you and I are friends. You once said, I’ll be right back, I have to stop by a gym. And I assumed you were going to work out. But there’s such thing in the game called the Pokemon gym, is that right?
Rohan Mirchandaney (14:36)
Yes, that’s right. Gyms in the game are significant landmarks that are opportunities for territory domination. So there are three teams in the game. There’s the red team, the blue team and the yellow team. And only one team can hold a landmark at any time.
Romen (14:54)
So this is a team sport. There are other, some of these other people you’re interacting with are on your team.
Rohan Mirchandaney (15:00)
Loosely it can be seen as a team sport. Yeah,
Romen (15:05)
Do you expect to be playing this game until you’re 80?
Rohan Mirchandaney (15:08)
Such a good question. I think I’d love to say yes or if I found someone that I could pass the torch to to continue the game and carry on my legacy that’s also an option as well.
Romen (15:27)
Aw, we all think about the legacies we want to leave behind. Your kids you would not force into acting, but they would be nepo babies in the Pokemon world.
Rohan Mirchandaney (15:31)
I certainly wouldn’t push them, but I’d guide them in that direction of course. yeah. I think it’d be a great way to connect and share.
Romen (15:44)
I mean, I come from the Midwest. have heard of much weirder traditions than that. Your sounds actually pretty wholesome. Can we call you a poke master?
Rohan Mirchandaney (15:56)
You know what? You can. It’s been done before and I’ve gotten pretty used to it. So please feel free to address me as Pokemaster.
Romen (16:07)
So ehen I played ultimate frisbee in college, I think the first question we were asked as sort of an icebreaker question was “If you were gonna eat any Pokemon, what Pokemon would it be”? my answer by the way to that question was Mr. Mime
Rohan Mirchandaney (16:28)
Mr. Mime is great Pokemon from the original 150. Fun fact about Mr. Mime, you can only catch Mr. Mime in Europe. There are some Pokemon that are region locked and you can only get them from visiting those places. So Australia has a Pokemon that you can’t get anywhere else. So I mentioned the 14 year old Pokemon player that I met. This was a young boy in India who when he saw on a message thread that I was visiting and I was from Australia. He was very excited to meet me because he wanted Kangaskhan. He just never had an opportunity to catch him or never interacted with a person who had Kangaskhan and so we made it happen. We made it happen.
Romen (17:10)
Can you give the Pokemon to someone else?
Rohan Mirchandaney (17:13)
You can trade Pokemon, yeah that’s a really big part of the game, sharing and yeah, giving people things that they don’t have and that’s usually where I come in because I’ve done so much traveling and I’ve gone to so many of these events where they will debut rare Pokemon only for that event. When I go back home or when I go to visit another city, I’m able to connect with the players and let them know that I’ve got these rare Pokemon if anyone wants to meet up and share and trade.
Romen (17:42)
That’s really sweet. And then will you hang out with these folks outside of Pokemon? Will it be like Pokemon is an inn to meet someone? And then you guys will like, will you like go to a movie or is it like, no, just Pokemon?
Rohan Mirchandaney (17:55)
Yeah, it certainly varies every time. mean, with Crystal, we went and got lunch. We went to… It’s an Italian restaurant. It’s like a chain. They give you free soup and… No, no, they got… Olive Garden! We went to Olive Garden. That’s exactly where we went. Yeah, we went to Olive Garden.
Romen (18:05)
Bucca di Beppo? Olive Garden?
Rohan Mirchandaney (18:07)
Olive garden, that’s exactly what it was.
Romen (18:10)
Man you really haven’t been in this country that long if you don’t know the Olive Garden by name. I mean, all you can eat soup and salad and breadsticks. Yeah. That’s so fun. So you, if, if absolutely nothing else, if you were to quit Pokemon right now, you could be like,
Rohan Mirchandaney (18:17)
Yeah, I’ve only been there that one time. And bread streaks? Yeah, that’s it. I love soup.
Romen (18:35)
Thanks to this game, you got to experience the Olive Garden for the first time. And that alone would be a huge victory, I think.
Rohan Mirchandaney (18:44)
Yeah, that’s a really positive way of looking at it and you’re absolutely right. I can’t wait to go back to the Olive Garden. In fact, when was the last time you’ve been?
Romen (18:49)
I went a year ago during Ramadan, a friend of mine was fasting and he said, would you like to join me for an Iftar dinner where I break my fast? Let’s go to Olive Garden. So we went there, we ordered at just the right time and we timed it so the food would come out the moment the sun went down and he could eat again. And we feasted on Olive Garden, might’ve said some Muslim prayers, I don’t remember.
Rohan Mirchandaney (19:24)
Wow, okay, there you go.
Romen (19:26)
Yeah, thank you for asking. I’m glad I got to volunteer that. But do you have a favorite Pokemon?
Rohan Mirchandaney (19:35)
I do. There’s a Pokemon called Lucario from generation 4 that is known as the empathy Pokemon. It is a fighting slash steel type and yeah there’s something about that particular Pokemon that I’m connected to.
Romen (19:50)
Cause you are an empath, would you say?
Rohan Mirchandaney (19:53)
I like that that particular Pokemon has a special bond with people. There’s like a telepathy that is shared and even though that Pokemon is really really strong and can mega evolve, there’s a softness to them as well.
Romen (20:10)
Will you very clearly both from my knowing you personally and from these stories you’ve told have, you know, are incredible at bonding with people and forging special connections. So that checks out. Are there any places you feel you need to travel to get certain certain Pokemon? Are there places in the globe where you’re like, “You know, there’s this one you can only get in the North Pole. So, you know, I’m hitting that up next Christmas.”
Rohan Mirchandaney (20:36)
I have thought about going to many different places around the world to get specific Pokemon, but I’ll tell you about one in particular. There is a Pokemon that is only available in Mexico called Hawlucha. It is a fighting slash flying type based on like the Luchador. And there were rumors that if you got close to the border, there is an opportunity to catch some Hawluchas. You don’t necessarily have to cross over, but…
if you play the game around the area and you’re lucky enough you can get a Hawlucha. So a couple of friends I heard were driving down, I said pick me up on the way, let’s do it and we spent the day just travelling around trying to get that one Pokemon and I ended up getting two, yeah, the rumours checked out.
Romen (21:19)
So what does that look like? Does it, you’re just on your phone and suddenly it’ll be like alert, how Lucha nearby or something like that? Or will you like…
Rohan Mirchandaney (21:30)
It will pop up on the screen it wouldn’t say nearby no text would show up but if you’re lucky you will just see it appear on the on the map
Romen (21:38)
And that’s just gotta be the most incredible thrill ever.
Rohan Mirchandaney (21:41)
It was pretty fun. Yeah, it was exciting.
Romen (21:45)
Aw, that’s really fun. Any parting thoughts related to Pokemon Go or otherwise that you want to leave us with?
Rohan Mirchandaney (21:54)
For me, it’s really changed my life, I have to say. It’s given me an opportunity to connect with the world in a way that I never thought I could, and meet people that I never thought I’d befriend. Yeah, just really lucky and really happy that I’ve been so fortunate enough to come across the game in such a pivotal moment of my life.
I’m glad you wanted to chat about it because this is the first time i’ve done it and it’s been nice.
Romen (22:24)
Are you kidding me? I’ve enjoyed this so much. I have a newfound appreciation who knows? Maybe I’ll download the app and head down to the border.
Rohan Mirchandaney (22:32)
Hey, it’s never too late. I can help you out. can trade you some Kangaskhan’s if you want.
Romen (22:34)
Amazing. Well, thank you so much, Rohan. Really appreciated this.
Rohan Mirchandaney (22:42)
No worries buddy, good talking to you.
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