Indian actor and model Priyanka Chopra Jonas said it took her nearly a decade of struggling before finally finding success in Hollywood.

During a recent interview with Pinkvilla, Chopra Jonas opened up about her initial challenges with breaking into the American film industry following her thriving Bollywood career.

“If I break it down, I have had an incredibly successful career as an actor in India,” the 40-year-old star shared. “I have worked with the best filmmakers, and I have done films that I am really, really proud of. And now I want to be able to, as an actor, create that body of work in the English language which is in America.”

According to Chopra Jonas, South Asian performers face tough competition when applying for Hollywood roles. She highlighted the need to create more opportunities for people of color in the American film industry.

“As South Asian actors, we don’t have enough Hollywood opportunities right now,” she noted. “In big commercial films, one has to struggle a lot to get a lead role or a leading role. It takes a lot of work.”

Chopra Jonas, who describes herself as a “high achiever” and a “goal-oriented person,” said she is finally getting her desired Hollywood roles after working in the industry for almost a decade.

“I have been working in Hollywood for almost 10 years and now I am finally doing what I wanted to do,” she was quoted as saying. 

The multi-talented celebrity added that there is still much work to be done to make the world recognize the caliber and individuality of South Asian performers.

Chopra Jonas echoed similar sentiments during an earlier interview with NextShark in which she advocated for more opportunities for South Asian talent both behind and in front of the camera. 

“It has really been my quest since I started working in Hollywood to be able to create or take on mainstream and pivotal characters in big commercial entertainment… because I didn’t have it,” she shared back in December. “I really had to… pound the pavement and re-educate people and say I could do it too, and I hope that the next generation of actors doesn’t have to inherit that specifically when it comes to diversity.”

Chopra Jonas’ most recent Hollywood projects include last year’s “The White Tiger” and “The Matrix Resurrections.” She is set to star in the upcoming film “It’s All Coming Back to Me” and the Amazon Prime series “Citadel.”

Featured Image via PriyankaChopraVEVO