--- title: Priyanka Chopra Refuses to Play Stereotypical Characters description: Find out what 'Quantico' star Priyanka Chopra told Glamour about why she refused to settle to play stereotypical roles. canonical: https://time.com/4761354/priyanka-chopra-refuses-stereotypical-roles/ author: Samantha Cooney article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2017-05-01T15:50:48.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T09:05:32.383Z og:title: Priyanka Chopra Refuses to Play Stereotypical Characters og:description: ‘I wanted to play a lead’ og:url: https://time.com/4761354/priyanka-chopra-refuses-stereotypical-roles/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbaa3213bd6a6d8e6/6988cb5797cdff9e9f6b07ff/priyanka-chopra-stereotypes-roles.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Harper's Bazaar: 150th Anniversary Party og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Priyanka Chopra Refuses to Play Stereotypical Characters twitter:description: ‘I wanted to play a lead’ twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbaa3213bd6a6d8e6/6988cb5797cdff9e9f6b07ff/priyanka-chopra-stereotypes-roles.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Priyanka Chopra Refuses to Play Stereotypical Characters  by [Samantha Cooney](https://time.com/author/samantha-cooney/)  ## Samantha Cooney May 1, 2017 3:50 PM UTC  NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 19: Actress Priyanka Chopra attends Harper's BAZAAR 150th Anniversary Event presented with Tiffany & Co at The Rainbow Room on April 19, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Gilbert Carrasquillo/FilmMagic) NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 19: Actress Priyanka Chopra attends Harper's BAZAAR 150th Anniversary Event presented with Tiffany & Co at The Rainbow Room on April 19, 2017 in New York City. (Photo by Gilbert Carrasquillo/FilmMagic)Gilbert Carrasquillo—FilmMagic  by [Samantha Cooney](https://time.com/author/samantha-cooney/)  ## Samantha Cooney May 1, 2017 3:50 PM UTC [Priyanka Chopra](http://motto.time.com/4411776/priyanka-chopra-quotes/) won’t settle for playing “exotic” characters. The _Quantico_ [star](http://motto.time.com/4654974/priyanka-chopra-quantico-dialogue-female-sexuality/) appears on the June [cover](http://www.glamour.com/story/priyanka-chopra-june-cover-interview) of _Glamour_, where she discussed her unwillingness to take on cliched roles written for Indian women. “I did not want to be the stereotype of either Bollywood or what Indian actors are \[usually offered\],” she said. “The exotic, beautiful girl, or the academically inclined nerd. And I wanted to play a lead… And I’m playing an FBI agent on _Quantico_. I didn’t settle for less.” Chopra, who was [born](http://www.imdb.com/name/nm1231899/) in India, said she used to get offended by individuals who tried to typecast her because of her ethnicity. But now she takes a different approach. “I educate. If I get pissed off, I’ll educate in a sassy way,” she said. “Other times I educate in a Gandhi-like way.” The actor also offered advice to other women who are pursuing their own careers — in Hollywood or elsewhere. She noted that they’ll inevitably face their own challenges, including [sexism ](http://motto.time.com/4597408/madonna-speech-billboard-sexism/)and [pay discrimination](http://motto.time.com/4340424/celebrity-quotes-equal-pay/), but it’s important to keep pushing. “It’ll be scary. There will be strife,” she said. “But women have incredible endurance and incredible strength. Your ability to deal with it is within you.” > [](https://twitter.com/glamourmag/status/859037349870743554) Read the full [interview](http://www.glamour.com/story/priyanka-chopra-june-cover-interview) on _Glamour_. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4761354/priyanka-chopra-refuses-stereotypical-roles/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4761354/priyanka-chopra-refuses-stereotypical-roles/"},"headline":"Priyanka Chopra Refuses to Play Stereotypical Characters","datePublished":"2017-05-01T15:50:48.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T09:05:32.383Z","description":"‘I wanted to play a lead’","url":"https://time.com/4761354/priyanka-chopra-refuses-stereotypical-roles/","keywords":["motto","Stereotypes","Careers","sexism"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbaa3213bd6a6d8e6/6988cb5797cdff9e9f6b07ff/priyanka-chopra-stereotypes-roles.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Samantha Cooney","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/samantha-cooney/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltbaa3213bd6a6d8e6/6988cb5797cdff9e9f6b07ff/priyanka-chopra-stereotypes-roles.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Harper's Bazaar: 150th Anniversary Party","caption":"Harper's Bazaar: 150th Anniversary Party","creditText":"Gilbert Carrasquillo—FilmMagic","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/motto/","name":"motto"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4761354/priyanka-chopra-refuses-stereotypical-roles/","name":"Priyanka Chopra Refuses to Play Stereotypical Characters"}}]}] ```