Poorna Jagannathan Is Feeling Very Lucky

Is anyone on TV having more fun than Poorna Jagannathan right now? She stars in the Hulu comedy Deli Boys from Abdullah Saeed (out March 6), in which two Pakistani American brothers inherit their late dad’s convenience store business only to learn it’s actually a criminal front. Jagannathan plays the no-nonsense Lucky Auntie, who ushers the brothers into this new, violent world while all decked out in fabulous fur and leather.

Jagannathan, 52, was initially unsure about taking on a new series so soon after wrapping Netflix’s Never Have I Ever, but the crime comedy proved too fun to pass up.

“It shot in Chicago during the winter — which, let me tell you, if I walk down the frozen aisle in Whole Foods, I may not make it out,” she jokes of her sensitivity to cooler temps. “Like, I could die.” But frosty weather be damned. “The beauty of gratitude infiltrated the set every single day,” says Jagannathan, whose recent projects include Wolfs and the upcoming DC series Lanterns.

At least Lucky gets to wear plenty of layered ’fits and furs to brace against the cold. “I really found myself through Lucky’s costumes, in a very weird way,” Jagannathan says. “Our costume designer, Cailey Breneman, always says, ‘Lucky carries the weight of the world on her shoulders. So you’ve got to really make them padded.’ So, I now walk around with very padded shoulders all the time. I hope I never lose this character.”

Below, Jagannathan dishes on Deli Boys, friendship, and why she owes her career to E.T.

I didn’t realize you were instrumental in getting Tan France on Deli Boys. Can you tell me about your friendship and shooting that epic fight scene in Episode 6?

Oh, we’re old friends. The South Asian community isn’t that big, and we met at some Emmys party. We [became] inseparable. He doubles as my stylist many, many, many times. I texted him, “Would you be up for it?” I hope we get a Season 2, and it’s me and Tan again.

I could watch you both forever.

The stunts were great. Tan wanted to do his own stunts. He is like an actual boxer, so he just wanted to go for it.

What was your approach?

I will do what is required for it to cut together. I got lucky many, many times. Once, I had to flip the knife and catch it, and I got it on the first try.

Looking at your Instagram, you’re so intentional about celebrating your friendships, like with Mindy Kaling. And I learned that you’re best friends with Sarita Choudhury!

Yes, my best friend.

That’s amazing. It can be hard to make and maintain those relationships as adults. What have you learned from yours?

To navigate this industry, you can do two things. You can see people as competition, or you can see people as lifelines. I do not utter a word from a script without having rehearsed with Sarita for weeks and weeks. One of my best friends is Richa Moorjani, whom I met on the set of Never Have I Ever. Mindy Kaling is beyond our fairy godmother. She’s someone I am inspired by every day. These are, including Tan, people who have a deep, deep impact on my life and make my work better, make my life better, and are completely my support structure.

That’s beautiful. It’s amazing that you and Sarita rehearse together. How did you become friends?

It was my first acting job. She was playing a role and had to have a girlfriend. She wanted it to be an Indian woman. I was still in school, but I auditioned for it and got cast. I might have been a glorified extra. That was 20 years ago.

I loved seeing your character’s origin story, the day she’s christened “Lucky” by Arshad “Baba” Dar. Do you have a similar moment that you consider foundational to your life and career today?

I just realized something very recently. Watching E.T. was so intensely seminal to me that I was like, I want to be part of this [movie’s world]. I was 9, and I wanted to be an actor, but I also knew I couldn’t be an actor. So the other way [into the world of E.T.] was astrophysics. By the first year of astrophysics, it was clear that I was going to get kicked out of the program in about two seconds if I didn’t leave. So I left. But, yeah, it was inconceivable to me that I could be an actor. I don’t take it for granted.

You’re queen of the pivot, because you were also in advertising and only stepped away from that world about 10 years ago, right?

After I was forced to quit astrophysics, I studied journalism with an advertising minor. I found that a lot of people in advertising were creative. So I did that for many years and had my own company. My last gig was in 2016. I was in the middle of a gig [when] I heard I’d booked a series regular on a show, and I never went back. But the transition has been very slow. I was 42, and it’s been a very beautiful, slow journey. It’s like the turtle and the hare story — I feel like the turtle all the time.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.