Genre: Information/Explanation

Dileep A. Rao ( born July 29 , 1973 ) is an American actor who has appeared in feature films and television series . He starred in Sam Raimi ' s horror film Drag Me to Hell ( 2009 ) , James Cameron ' s science fiction film Avatar ( 2009 ) , and Christopher Nolan ' s thriller Inception ( 2010 ) . Rao's first role after graduating was in the American premiere of Indian Ink by Tom Stoppard . Rao moved to Los Angeles and began working in regional theater including at the Berkeley Rep , South Coast Repertory , and for the Manhattan Theater Club . He competed on Jeopardy ! on June 7 , 2002 , and won $ 34 , 400 . On June 8 , 2008 , Rao was randomly selected from over 1600 entrants to play the NPR Weekend Edition Sunday puzzle on air with Will Shortz . In 2009 , he appeared in Avatar and Drag Me to Hell . He was nominated for several awards as part of the ensemble cast in Christopher Nolan ' s 2010 film Inception . He played a pharmacologist in the film .