The Associated Press

Since being tapped to play a fourth-year medical student on ER, Parminder Nagra has had to adjust to the NBC drama's workload.

"It's quite fast-paced," she tells TV Guide.

Nagra, the 27-year-old British actress who stars in the sleeper movie hit Bend It Like Beckham, will make her ER debut in the fall.

"It's happening very, very quickly. I only met (executive producer) John Wells a month-and-a-half ago," Nagra said.

Nagra is of Indian descent, which Wells said would help the show reflect a reality it has missed so far.

"There are a number of Indian and Pakistani students who've been in U.S. medical school and staffing urban hospitals, and we haven't really shown it," he said.