The Intersect

Every Tuesday, after a new episode of Chuck, I have a rash of traffic driven here by searches for Vik Sahay. The reasons for this are many, but I think primarily it is because I usually end up gushing about his performance. And I’ll be honest, the only reason I didn’t this week was because I was so blown away by the fact that an episode which had caused me so much apprehension could turn out to be, as each new episode this season has been, better than the one that came before it. Every single actor on Chuck is enjoyable to watch, and brings their character to life in spite of the fact that the show often requires suspension of disbelief on what is, frankly, an epic scale.

I’m not sure what it is about Vik that gets me. Perhaps it’s his expressive face, or perhaps it’s the shameless way he throws himself into his roles and really seems to be enjoying himself. He takes a character who is kind of slimy, not a little creepy, and generally unsavoury, and — to me, at least — makes him relatable, real, multi-dimensional and most importantly, funny. Lester is arguably my favorite character on Chuck at this point, and I think if I had a chance to sit down with any member of the cast and chat with them, whether it was about the show or just chewing the proverbial fat, it would be Vik. (So if you’re reading this, Vik, by all means, email me or drop me a comment. I would love a chance to talk to you about Lester, about Amal, about any other projects you’ve got coming up, you name it.

Also, I would be honored to talk to possibly the one person alive who isn’t Gene Simmons and still has a bigger tongue than I do.)

So if a week passes, bringing with it a new episode of Chuck, and for some reason I fail to mention the myriad ways in which Vik Sahay — and by extension, Lester Patel — is made of awesome, feel free to take it as read. Every week he delivers a solid performance of humor with just the tiniest hint of vulnerability to remind us that Lester is a human being, not just a creep in an electronics store, and every week I am astonished that among so much talent, he still shines so bright. Though I’m bound to eventually run out of words to express it, the sentiment will remain.

Images are stills from Roxy Hunter and the Myth of the Mermaid.