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Ambika Mod has shared her personal experiences and insights about being a brown woman in the film industry a year after the enormous success of her lead role in Netflix’s One Day.

Netflix’s One Day star Ambika Mod has opened up about her experience navigating the film industry as a woman and those who compare her career trajectory to her former co-star Leo Woodall. The actress shared her candid thoughts after new survey research from Mastercard revealed that women in film feel progress is reversing, but that younger generations are best poised to affect positive change.

Speaking at a panel event alongside film director Nisha Ganatra (Freakier Friday), Mod said: “It’s great to see such a positive shift on screen, as the new research from Mastercard reflects. There’s a real sense that change is taking hold, and that people are starting to believe in a more equal future for women in film.”

“I’ve seen this in my own experience, and doors are opening,” she continued. The findings serve as a reminder that we are still in the dark, especially in the back-up roles. We must ensure opportunities exist across all branches of the industry if we want lasting change.

Following the success of the Netflix miniseries, Mod has gone on to star in the television series The Stolen Girl and hit movie Black Bag, alongside Cate Blanchett, BAFTA award winner Marisa Abela and fellow Netflix alum Regé-Jean Page, and was also named on the 2024 Time100 Next list recognising rising influential leaders.

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But despite her incredible success, her career trajectory is often compared to her former One Day co-star. Woodall’s career has skyrocketed since the series, starring as the lead in Prime Target for Apple TV+ and recently earning a role in the upcoming Anthony Bourdain biopic, Tony.

Speaking to British GQ, Mod shared she doesn’t have access to the same “privilege” as Woodall, though their careers are often compared. She said: “It’s mad because we wouldn’t be going for the same roles at all, and we’re very different people. I think we’re going to have very different careers. If I compare myself to someone like Leo, I’m always going to come up short, because there’s a privilege there that I don’t have access to.”

In the interview, she revealed that she still struggles to avoid being compared to white peers. In this sector, being brown is not very simple. The opportunities are different for you. You are not granted the same ascension.

Despite her success on One Day and BBC’s This is Going to Hurt, Mod says she still feels she has to prove herself in a way white actors do not. “I’ve been the lead of two very successful, critically-acclaimed TV shows and I still feel like I have to keep on proving myself. A lot of my white peers don’t really have to tackle that.”

Women in Film research from Mastercard also found that despite improved screen representation of women, women are more under pressure to “prove themselves” than their male counterparts, particularly in in-house roles.

The future is still promising for Mod, with a number of exciting projects afoot, including two large theater productions. Every Brilliant Thing, Mod’s one-woman show, will soon begin in the West End, with a performance in Porn Play at the Royal Court in the coming weeks.

After appearing in Love Island, Paul Danan, who played Sol Patrick in Channel 4 soap Hollyoaks, spoke about the devastating effect his reality fame had had on his acting career.

Paul Danan made a name for himself after starring in the original Love Island, but it had a knock-on effect on his career.

The Hollyoaks star, whose inquest is today, tragically died at the age of 46 on January 15. A statement by his management read: “It is with heavy hearts that we share the tragic news of the passing of @pauldanan at just 46 years old. Known for his television presence, exceptional talent, and unwavering kindness, Paul was a beacon of light to so many.

“His untimely departure will leave irreplaceable voids in the lives of all who knew him. During this difficult time, we kindly request respect and privacy for Paul’s family, friends, and colleagues. No further comments will be made at this time.” The actor rose to fame playing Sol Patrick in the Channel 4 soap between 1997 and 2001.

As he tried to carve a new identity away from the soap, Paul went on to appear on reality TV shows Celebrity Love Island and Celebrity Big Brother. In 2005, he was an islander alongside the likes of Calum Best and Rebecca Loos. The series was won by Jayne Middlemiss and Fran Cosgrave. But while it did well for some stars, it only set Paul back in acting.

While on an episode of the Dozen podcast in November 2024, he reflected on his career choices. Speaking about life after being in the villa, he said: “I’ve never known fame like it. I’ve never seen people go so mental. Four years on a soap opera – that was nothing compared to these six weeks [in terms] of the stature of fame.”

According to host Liam Tuffs, “So Love Island was the one that skyrocketed you into fame”? Like ridiculously, Paul, who made a second series of appearances in 2006, said. He claimed that it was “mental” that he was appearing on magazines’ covers and that it had become excessive, claiming that he had never wanted to be famous. He continued, “I just want to be respected as an actor.”

However, he realized that his Hollywood acting dreams were unfulfilled by his success on reality TV. He claimed that it had no bearing on my acting career because people suddenly said, “Oh, we don’t want to hire a reality star! “

The casting directors were a little snobby, and they don’t want people to see me on a TV show because they thought, “Isn’t that the guy from Love Island?” It took a long time to recover that which my acting career had been lacking. Even so long ago, I’m not sure if it has been fully redeemed.

According to the actor, reality TV stars from 2005 through 2007 were cast in a negative light rather than reflecting on their careers in movies, theater, and soaps. And as a result, he began looking for work outside the business to help make ends meet. He even held positions in retail clothing stores as well as phone repair shops.

He said: “I worked in a place called I Smashed It, which is where if you if you drop your iPhone or your phone and the screen smashes, then we’ll fix the screen for you. I was working there for a bit, probably about 10 years ago. And that was just to get a bit of money on the side.” Paul added: “I probably didn’t want to do a reality show did I? I should have just stuck to my acting.”