--- name: "Vik Sahay" canonical: "https://film.one/person/vik-sahay" fi1m_id: "vik-sahay" imdb_id: "nm0006710" tmdb_id: 6623 wikidata_id: "Q973437" roles: ["Actor"] born: "3 July 1971" reviewed_on_fi1m: 3 average_fi1m_score: 72 average_as: "actor" average_over: 3 updated: "2026-09-19T12:10:24.171657+00:00" licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Vik Sahay ## Identity Vik Sahay - **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/vik-sahay - **Type:** Person - **Fi1m ID:** vik-sahay - **IMDb ID:** nm0006710 - **TMDB ID:** 6623 - **Wikidata ID:** Q973437 - **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vik_Sahay, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q973437, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0006710/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/6623 Actor. Born 3 July 1971 in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. ## Details - **Work:** Actor - **Born:** 3 July 1971, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada - **Active:** 1997–2019 - **Also known as:** Vic Sahay, Vikram Sahay , Вік Сахай - **Average Fi1m score:** 72, as actor, over 3 titles - **Fi1m score by decade:** 1990s 82 (1), 2000s 73 (1), 2010s 60 (1) - **Score spread:** 1 at 80+, 2 at 60–79, 0 under 60 - **Lead roles:** 0 of 2 acting credits billed first or second - **Genres:** Drama 2, Action 1, Action & Adventure 1, Adventure 1, Comedy 1, Science Fiction 1 - **Screen time:** 4 hours of reviewed films - **Box office:** $1,357m across 2 films with figures - **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vik_Sahay, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q973437, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0006710/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/6623 ## Streaming the US now - **Paramount+:** [*Good Will Hunting*](https://film.one/film/good-will-hunting.md) (82) For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country. ## Fi1m on Vik Sahay > Vik Sahay plays the man nobody wants at the counter, and plays him with complete conviction. Five seasons as Lester Patel on *Chuck* make the case for him; nothing since has given him a room that size. Lester Patel stands in the Buy More in *Chuck* with the bearing of a man who believes he is the most dangerous person in the building. He is not, and the show never tells him so. Vik Sahay plays him as a schemer without the equipment for scheming, and plays it dead straight: the plots are small, the ambition enormous, and nothing about the performance winks. Next to him is Scott Krinsky's Jeff, and between them they are two men who should not be allowed near the public. We laughed at them more than we are comfortable admitting, and nearly always at their sincerity, because the joke is Lester's belief in himself and Sahay never lets it waver. That part came after twenty years of work. Sahay started in Canadian children's television in the mid-1980s, on *You Can't Do That on Television*, and went on through Canadian series such as *Radio Active* (1998–1999) and *Our Hero* (2000–2002). There was film too, in small measure: an MIT student in *Good Will Hunting* (1997), then *eXistenZ* (1999). We did not single him out when we reviewed *Good Will Hunting*, and the film does not give him room to be singled out. *Chuck* ran from 2007 to 2012 and gave him five seasons, and by his own account he had originally read for Morgan. What he did with those seasons is the argument for him. The timing is exact and the physical comedy is precise, and the role grew because he grew it, improvising and doing the backstory work that made Lester more than a punchline. Jeffster, the musical duo Lester forms with Jeff, is the clearest example. Sahay has said that Lester's struggle across the series was to find belonging and love, and that without knowing what those looked like he kept reaching for power. That is a more thoughtful account of the character than the show usually offered, and you can see it in the performance: Lester's cruelties are always slightly hopeful. Since *Chuck* the work has been guest parts on American series (*Bones*, *The Mentalist*, *Grimm*, *Lucifer*, *Preacher*, *Scorpion*, *Lodge 49*) and supporting roles in films: *American Reunion* (2012), *Captain Marvel* (2019) and *It Lives Inside* (2023), a horror film about the Indian diaspora that gave him a larger supporting part than most. We have reviewed none of them, so we will not judge them. The pattern is plain enough. He is cast as the awkward or nerdy man in an ensemble, often as a character from the South Asian diaspora, and rarely as anything else. He has been good enough for long enough that the casting looks like a habit rather than a judgement. Someone should hand him a lead in a small comedy and see what he does when nobody is standing next to him. ## Biography Vik Sahay is a Canadian actor. Born in Ottawa, Ontario, to Indian parents, he attended Canterbury High School of the Arts in Ottawa and studied Theatre Performance at Concordia University in Montreal. Sahay is known for his role as Lester Patel in the television series *Chuck* (2007–2012), on which he became a series regular from the second season. His film credits include *Good Will Hunting* (1997), *eXistenZ* (1999), *The Rocker* (2008), *American Reunion* (2012) and *Captain Marvel* (2019). He has also appeared in guest roles on series including *The Mentalist*, *Bones*, *Grimm* and *Lucifer*. He received a Canadian Comedy Award nomination for his work on *Our Hero*. *Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com.* ## On Fi1m (3) - *Captain Marvel* (2019), Fi1m 60, as Hero Torfan — [page](https://film.one/film/captain-marvel.md) - *Chuck* (2007), Fi1m 73, as Lester Patel — [page](https://film.one/tv/chuck.md) - *Good Will Hunting* (1997), Fi1m 82, as MIT Student — [page](https://film.one/film/good-will-hunting.md) ## Complete filmography (58) Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page. - *It Lives Inside* (2023), as Inesh - *Bar Fight* (2022), as Dick - *Captain Marvel* (2019), as Hero Torfan — Fi1m 60, [page](https://film.one/film/captain-marvel.md) - *The Infiltrators* (2019), as Ashan - *Sharon 1.2.3.* (2018), as Drew - *Lodge 49* (2018), series, Actor - *Preacher* (2016), series, as Frank Patel - *Lucifer* (2016), series, as Ray Codfree - *Chicago Med* (2015), series, as Vishal Kumar - *Con Man* (2015), series, as Bryce - *A Date with Miss Fortune* (2015), as Wilson - *Scorpion* (2014), series, as Raja Bhatt - *Wer* (2013), as Eric Sarin - *Sean Saves the World* (2013), series, as Howard - *Maron* (2013), series, as Kumar Sanjani - *My Awkward Sexual Adventure* (2012), as Dandak Sajal - *American Reunion* (2012), as Prateek Duraiswamy - *Grimm* (2011), series, as Dr. Sanji Raju — Fi1m 63, [page](https://film.one/tv/grimm.md) - *Roxy Hunter and the Secret of the Shaman* (2008), as Ramma - *The Mentalist* (2008), series, as Nicholas Hong — Fi1m 71, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-mentalist.md) - *The Rocker* (2008), as Gary - *Time Bomb* (2008), as Samir/Habib - *Roxy Hunter and the Mystery of the Moody Ghost* (2007), as Ramma Vingri - *Long Pigs* (2007), as Dr. Hooshangi - *Chuck* (2007), series, as Lester Patel — Fi1m 73, [page](https://film.one/tv/chuck.md) - *Amal* (2007), as Vivek Jayaram - *Stir of Echoes: The Homecoming* (2007), as Farzan - *Living Death* (2006), as Steve - *Bones* (2005), series, as Akshay Mirza — Fi1m 70, [page](https://film.one/tv/bones.md) - *My Uncle Navy and Other Inherited Disorders* (2005), as Dinesh - *This Is Wonderland* (2004), series, as Anil Sharma - *NCIS* (2003), series, as Ajay Khan — Fi1m 66, [page](https://film.one/tv/ncis.md) - *Las Vegas* (2003), series, as Pramil Nobay - *Fast Food High* (2003), as Evan - *Without a Trace* (2002), series, as Movie Driver - *Tom Stone* (2002), series, Actor - *Spinning Out of Control* (2001), as Brian - *A Mother's Fight for Justice* (2001), as Marius - *Our Hero* (2000), series, as Dalal Vidya - *The Ride* (2000), as Raj - *A Slight Case of Murder* (1999), as Bob - *eXistenZ* (1999), as Male Assistant - *Radio Active* (1998), series, as Kevin Calvin - *The Garbage Picking Field Goal Kicking Philadelphia Phenomenon* (1998), as Taxi Driver - *Balls Up* (1997), as Debdash - *Good Will Hunting* (1997), as MIT Student — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/film/good-will-hunting.md) - *Platinum* (1997), Actor - *For Better or for Worse: A Storm in April* (1996), as Michael Patterson (voice) - *Hollow Point* (1996), as Livingston's Assistant - *Everything to Gain* (1996), as Roland Jellico - *Rainbow* (1996), Actor - *For Better or for Worse: The Babe Magnet* (1994), as Michael Patterson (voice) - *For Better Or For Worse: The Good For Nothing* (1993), as Michael Patterson - *The X-Files* (1993), series, as Gupta — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/tv/the-x-files.md) - *For Better or for Worse: A Valentine from the Heart* (1993), as Michael Patterson (voice) - *For Better or for Worse: The Last Camping Trip* (1992), as Michael Patterson (voice) - *You Can't Do That on Television* (1979), series, Actor - *Two Questions and a Wish*, as Dev ## Gallery - ![Chuck Cast (2010)](https://film.one/media/person/87130/gallery-578302ad024b.jpg) Chuck Cast (2010) — vagueonthehow from Tadcaster, York, England, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8a/Chuck_Cast.jpg/1280px-Chuck_Cast.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - !["Chuck" Panel. Actors Mark Christopher Lawrence, Scott Krinsky, Vik Sahay, Ryan McPartlin, Sarah Lancaster, Adam Baldwin, Yvonne Strahovski and Joshua Gomez at (2010)](https://film.one/media/person/87130/gallery-eee958e21a1b.jpg) "Chuck" Panel. Actors Mark Christopher Lawrence, Scott Krinsky, Vik Sahay, Ryan McPartlin, Sarah Lancaster, Adam Baldwin, Yvonne Strahovski and Joshua Gomez at (2010) — ewen and donabel, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/7/7c/Chuck_Panel_3_2010_CC.jpg/1280px-Chuck_Panel_3_2010_CC.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![Actor Vik Sahay – Comic-Con 2009 - "Chuck," - San Diego, Calif. - July 25, 2009](https://film.one/media/person/87130/gallery-cda526d8cca3.jpg) Actor Vik Sahay – Comic-Con 2009 - "Chuck," - San Diego, Calif. - July 25, 2009 — Kristin Dos Santos, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/13/Vik_Sahay_1.jpg/1280px-Vik_Sahay_1.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![Vik Sahay at the San Diego Comic Con International in 2011 (2012)](https://film.one/media/person/87130/gallery-c094d709c442.jpg) Vik Sahay at the San Diego Comic Con International in 2011 (2012) — Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Vik_Sahay_Comic_Con.jpg/1280px-Vik_Sahay_Comic_Con.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) - ![Vik Sahay](https://film.one/media/person/87130/gallery-96076276cb25.jpg) Vik Sahay — Gage Skidmore, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://thumb.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/f/f6/Vik_Sahay_San_Diego_Comic_Con.jpg/1280px-Vik_Sahay_San_Diego_Comic_Con.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/vik-sahay