“Mindy Kaling” SXSW Creative Panel

Rick Wayne hosted a panel with actress, writer, producer Mindy Kaling for the press at SXSW in Austin Texas. They discussed her creative process, career advice and more.

The actress and writer talked about confidence, doing the jobs you don't like and penmanship at the Sharpie Studio at South by Southwest on Saturday. Kaling is best known for playing Kelly from The Office and creating the Mindy Project.

A recent study found a massive barrier to creativity is a lack of confidence. Kaling told a packed room on Rainey Street that at the start of her career what held her back was not being open to learning new skills.

“I just wanted to be a comedy writer. I loved being an actor and being on camera is very glamorous and everything, but I just wanted to be a comedy writer. But what I learned I had to do was I had to act, I had to learn how to edit, and I learned how to direct and hold a camera because no one else would do it for me and I couldn’t afford to pay someone,” said Kaling.