Qarnain: “Putting an emphasis on characters of different backgrounds who are nuanced is part of the work that needs to happen to increase opportunities for us all.” (Photo by Benjamin Norman)

One of four daughters of Pakistani immigrants, Salma Qarnain (MBA 2002) grew up in the midwestern “I” states of Iowa, Illinois, and Indiana before attending Stanford University. “It was my first experience feeling happy and comfortable in a place that had diversity,” says Qarnain. A strong math student in high school, she graduated with a degree in mechanical engineering before moving on to MIT for a master’s degree in aeronautics and astronautics and a position at Orbital Sciences Corporation, where she served as senior systems engineer for the company’s satellite program. “I could speak to the businesspeople, and I could also speak to the engineers. I applied to HBS with the thought that someday I’d like to be director of NASA,” she says.

But here’s the thing: Qarnain also loved to act and sing. When she graduated with her MBA into a less-than-welcoming post-9/11 labor market, Qarnain decided to work, pro bono, at a Washington, DC, casting agency. “I learned what people look for on a résumé and what a professional audition looks like,” she says. The experience also gave her a window into how South Asians were being cast primarily as terrorists, convenience-store owners, and geeky nerds. To counter those stereotypes, Qarnain made a point of gathering more diverse résumés for roles that didn’t explicitly require a white actor, hoping to gradually shift expected norms: “It requires an active decision to break the cycle and value a background and experience outside of one’s own,” she says.

After nine months, Qarnain landed a job at AOL—and simultaneously launched her acting career. She booked her first professional theater job in the summer of 2003, appearing in numerous government training videos (“everything from the FBI to the IRS”) and serving as COO of Synetic Theater before moving to New York City in 2012. TV and Off Broadway followed, and in 2022 Qarnain was cast as Mrs. Biology-Kumar and a Muslim cleric, Zaida Khan, in Life of Pi. After opening in October 2022 at the American Repertory Theatre in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Pi—with Qarnain—moved to Broadway in March 2023.

As cofounder of Black Man Films, launched in 2020, Qarnain also works as a producer. Black Man’s short films Silent Partner and Speak Up, Brotha! have earned nominations and awards on the film-festival circuit; in January 2024, shooting began on a feature-length version of Silent Partner. “Putting an emphasis on characters of different backgrounds who are nuanced is part of the work that needs to happen to increase opportunities for us all,” explains Qarnain. “I want to help change the narrative.”

Dream job: “I wanted to be an astronaut. When I was 12 years old, I discovered that my eyesight would exclude me from any sort of training program, which was devastating.”

Breakthrough: “My junior year at Stanford I played Reno Sweeney in Anything Goes. Collaborating to bring joy to other people and finding joy in the work itself was seminal.”

Cracking the code: “At HBS I realized that I love to problem solve—and every case was a problem to be solved, whether it was about cranberries, pallet trucks, or accounting.”

Teflon: “As an actor, you do absolutely have to advocate for yourself and believe that all things are possible. It’s a business of rejection; how you cope with that dictates your longevity in the field.”

Bottom line: “More and more people of color are streaming content and buying tickets for productions with diverse casts. There’s a business case to be made for representation and inclusion.”

Bit by bit: “Acting opportunities are better than they were 20, 10, or even 5 years ago, mainly because there are more writers who are South Asian—and people of color, in general—who are creating diverse, fully fleshed out characters.”

Comfort food: “Pakistani keema: ground beef or lamb with spices. That’s what my mother used to cook, and now I sometimes make it for myself and my son.”

Good morning: “After my son gets on the bus, I grab my coffee and sit down to work. I start off with journaling about my intentions for the day. It’s helpful to think through priorities because there are so many different things I’m juggling.”

Onstage staying power: “Diet and exercise are key for sustaining energy for eight shows a week, plus rehearsals and promotion events. You want to be in your best possible shape vocally, mentally, and spiritually.”

Broadway regimen: “Prioritize sleep, especially if you’re waking up at 6 a.m. to get your son off to school. Small meals of light protein and vegetables throughout the day—nothing too close to curtain time. And intermittent fasting.”

Formative film: Star Wars—Episode IV: A New Hope. “It’s a hero’s journey of finding your purpose. It was an imaginative, funny, completely different world, and I loved the mythology of it.”

Favorite director: Steven Spielberg. “He’s a craftsman with such a strong sense of what makes a universal, emotional story. With West Side Story he came into a genre and said, okay, I’m going to try my hand at a musical.”

Good reads: N. K. Jemison’s Broken Earth trilogy and Life of Pi by Yann Martel. “Both writers make you want to go back, reread, and rediscover what you missed. Pi is so rich and beautifully written—it’s about surviving traumatic experiences through the sheer power of storytelling.”

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