Background
Rao was born in Los Angeles to a physicist mother and an engineer father, both of Indian descent. He grew up in Yanbu, Saudi Arabia, Denver, Colorado, and Claremont, California.
Rao was born in Los Angeles to a physicist mother and an engineer father, both of Indian descent. He grew up in Yanbu, Saudi Arabia, Denver, Colorado, and Claremont, California.
He graduated from Claremont High School and the University of California, San Diego, with a Bachelor of Arts, later receiving an Master of Fine Arts from the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco where his class included Anna Belknap and Elizabeth Banks.
He starred in Sam Raimi"s horror film Drag Maine to Hell (2009), James Cameron"s science fiction film Avatar (2009), and Christopher Nolan"s thriller Inception (2010). He has one sister who is a professor at New York University. Rao"s first role after graduating was in the American premiere of Indian Ink by Tom Stoppard.
Rao moved to Los Angeles and began working in regional theater including at the Berkeley Representative, South Coast Repertory, and for the Manhattan Theater Club.
He competed on Jeopardy! On June 8, 2008, Rao was randomly selected from over 1600 entrants to play the National Public Radio Weekend Edition Sunday puzzle on air with Will Shortz. In 2009, he appeared in Avatar and Drag Maine to Hell.
He was nominated for several awards as part of the ensemble cast in Christopher Nolan"s 2010 film Inception. He played a pharmacologist in the film.
As of February 22, 2011, the average United States. domestic box office of Dileep Rao"s movies was over $363 million and $1.2 billion worldwide.
This is an extremely high average, especially for an actor who has appeared in multiple movies. Among actors tracked by Box Office Mojo, the highest average for an entertainment figure with multiple movies is Emma Watson with an average of $252 million. Lee Unkrich is reported with an "average" of over $400 million, but this is from a voice appearance in a single film.