Born in Boston to a Kashmiri mother and a Missourian father, Karan split his time between Boston, London, and Hyderabad, and began acting in musicals when he was eight. He went on to explore all of theatre: writing, directing, lighting, sound design, and even set construciton in addition to acting before moving to Los Angeles to attend the University of Southern California’s School of Dramatic Arts.
His skills backstage supported him at USC while he continued to explore the onstage craft, learning a variety of methods and techniques. While at university he also cofounded and ran the school’s first longform episodic improv troupe and starred in USC’s longest running TV series.
After graduating he ran yet another improv troupe, added to his roster a sketch comedy troupe, and continues to train with Bill Alderson, Second City, and with whomever else will have him.
Karan is an accomplished tenor, trained in Hindustani and Carnatic classical music as well as contemporary styles. In addition to acting and singing, he enjoys writing, graphic design, programming, and concert lighting.




Karan Lyons
Film
- Flawless
- Lead
- Independent
- My Anchor
- Lead
- Independent
Television
- underGRAD
- Series Regular
- Trojan Vision
New Media
- We Thought This Was Funny
- Recurring
Theatre (selected)
- Con-Man: A Musical
- Billy (lead, originating)
- USC, Dir. David Schweizer
- The Skin of Our Teeth
- Henry Antrobus
- Nobles Theatre Collective
- The Bald Soprano
- The Fire Chief
- Nobles Theatre Collective
Training
- B.A. Theatre
- USC School of Dramatic Arts
- Meisner Technique
- William Alderson
- William Alderson Acting Studio
- Improvisation
- Grad Revue
- The Second City
- Miles Stroth
- The Pack Theater
- Audition Technique
- Margie Haber, Robin Dale Meyers
- Margie Haber Studio
- Commercial
- Killian McHugh
- Killian’s Workshop
- Scene Study
- Mary-Joan Negro
- USC School of Dramatic Arts
- On Camera
- Joseph Hacker, Andrei Belgrader
- USC School of Dramatic Arts
- Voice Over
- Phil Allen, Vicki Lewis
- USC School of Dramatic Arts
- Movement
- Marjo-Riikka Makela
- USC School of Dramatic Arts
- Voice
- Katherine Giaquinto
- Ovation Voice Studio
Skills
Singing (Tenor: Hindustani, Carnatic, Classical and Contemporary), Accents/Dialects (British RP, Indian, Southern, German), Improvisation (Five years running two troupes; Episodic longform and shortform)