Dev Patel

Dev Patel
દેવ પટેલ

Dev Patel in 2008
Born 23 April 1990 (1990-04-23) (age 21)
Harrow, London, United Kingdom
Nationality British
Ethnicity Indian
Occupation Actor
Years active 2006–present

Dev Patel (Gujarati: દેવ પટેલ;[1] born 23 April 1990)[2] is a British actor. He is best known for playing Jamal Malik in Danny Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire (2008), for which Patel won a number of awards, including a Critics' Choice Award[3] and a Screen Actors Guild Award. Patel is also known for his role as Anwar Kharral in the British teen drama series Skins.

Contents

Early life

Patel was born in Harrow, England, to Indian parents, both of whom were born in Nairobi, Kenya, where there is a significant Indian community.[4][5] His parents both emigrated from Kenya separately in their teens, and only met in London.[5] His mother, Anita, is a carer, and his father, Raj, an IT consultant.[5] He has one sibling, an older sister named Komal.[6] He was raised in the Hindu faith.[7]

Patel grew up in Rayners Lane, Harrow, and attended Longfield Middle School. He had his first acting role as Sir Andrew Aguecheek in the school's production of Twelfth Night.[5] Patel was given the Best Actor award for his performance and says that was the day he knew he wanted to become an actor. He later went to Whitmore High School, receiving an A* in GCSE Drama, for his "self-penned portrayal of a child in the Beslan school siege". During the exam Patel moved his examiner to tears.[8] His drama teacher Niamh Wright has stated: "Dev was a gifted student who quickly impressed me with his innate ability to communicate a wide variety of characters imaginatively and creatively. ... He was awarded full marks for his GCSE performance to a live audience and the visiting examiner was moved to tears by his honest portrayal of a child in the Beslan school hostage crisis in Russia."[8][9] He eventually completed his AS Levels in PE, Biology, History and Drama in 2007, while he was working in Skins.[8]

Martial arts

Patel said that as a kid, he was "bloody energetic" and used to get in trouble at school because of it. His mottel started training at the Rayners Lane Academy of Taekwon-do in 2000. He competed regularly in both national and international championships, including the 2004 AIMAA (Action International Martial Arts Association) World Championships in Dublin, where he won a bronze medal.[4][10][11] The World Championships took place in October 2004, when he was a red belt competing in the junior division against other red and black belts. He made it to the semi-finals, where he lost to an Irish black belt named Niall Fitzmaurice in "a very close and tough fight", and ended up winning a bronze medal.[10] He later gained a 1st dan black belt on 11 March 2006.[12]

Acting career

Patel began his acting career in late 2006, when he auditioned for the E4 teen drama television series Skins. Patel's mother saw the casting ad in a newspaper and took him to the audition even though he had a science exam the next day.[5] After two auditions, he was cast in the role of Anwar Kharral, a British Pakistani Muslim teenager.[5] According to fellow actors Mike Bailey (who played Sid Jenkins) and Hannah Murray (who played Cassie Ainsworth), the characterization of Anwar was partly based on the personality of Patel and the role was written specifically for him after he was cast in Skins.[13] Patel, who had no professional acting experience, said that on "the first day of shooting I didn't really know what to do."[5] The first series of the show aired in January 2007 and went on to win the Rose d'Or for Drama in 2008 and receive a nomination for Best Drama Series at the 2008 BAFTA Television Awards.[14][15] Patel reprised his role as Anwar for the second series of Skins, which aired in February 2008. The second series of Skins won the Philips Audience Award at t]he 2009 BAFTA Television Awards in April 2009.[16] In 2010 it was released that he would star in the Skins movie showing in summer 2011.

Patel made his feature film debut when he was cast in the role of Jamal Malik, the central character in Danny Boyle's film Slumdog Millionaire. The character Jamal Malik is an Indian Muslim boy born and raised in the poverty of Bombay (known now as Mumbai) India.[17] Boyle considered hundreds of young male actors, but found that Bollywood leads were generally "strong, handsome hero-types", not the personality he was looking for.[18] Boyle's 17-year-old daughter Caitlin pointed him to the British television ensemble drama Skins, of which Patel was a cast member.[18][19] After five auditions for the role,[20] the actor was eventually cast in August 2007.[21] The film's producer found the original choice for the lead role, Ruslaan Mumtaz, too good looking for the role.[22] Boyle said "I wanted a guy who didn't look like a potential hero; I wanted him to earn that in the film."[5] To prepare for the role, Patel went along with Boyle while scouting for filming locations, where he was able to observe the Dharavi slums for himself. He also worked at a call centre for a day and in a hotel, where he washed dishes.[23][24]

After the release of Slumdog Millionaire at the end of 2008, Patel went on to receive a number of awards for his performance, including a British Independent Film Award,[25] National Board of Review (NBR) Award,[26] Chicago Film Critics Association Award,[27] and two Black Reel Awards for Best Actor and Best Breakthrough Performance.[28] Patel was also nominated for Best Supporting Actor at the 2009 Screen Actors Guild (SAG) Awards. The award eventually went posthumously to Heath Ledger for his performance in The Dark Knight, though Patel did win the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture, which he shared with ten other cast members from Slumdog Millionaire.[29][30] On 8 January 2009, Patel won the Critics' Choice Award for Best Young Performer.[3] He was also nominated for two London Critics Circle Film Awards,[31] the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor,[32] the 2009 BAFTA Award for Best Leading Actor,[33] and European Film Award for Best Actor.[34] The film itself won four Golden Globes,[33] including Best Drama Film, and eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture.[35]

Patel played Zuko in M. Night Shyamalan's The Last Airbender, a feature film adaptation of the animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender,[36] [37] [38] which was released July 1, 2010, to extremely negative reviews. Despite being a commercial success, the film was a critical failure and Patel even received a Razzie Award nomination as worst supporting actor that year.

Patel starred in the short film, "The Commuter",[39] which was directed by the McHenry Brothers to promote the Nokia N8 smartphone in the U.K.[40] Fans who won a Nokia UK run competition starred alongside Dev Patel in the short film.[41][42]

Patel will star in The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, directed by John Madden, with Judi Dench, Bill Nighy and Maggie Smith. The film, currently in post-production, is set in India, and he will play the role of a native Indian. For this role he had to take lessons in perfecting an Indian-English accent, as his native English accent was so strong the producers felt if he kept the accent the film would be less believable.[43]

Filmography

Year Title Role Awards Other notes
Television
2007–2008 Skins Anwar Kharral Main cast member
Won 2 BAFTAs
2009 Mister Eleven Waiter Minor Role
2012 The Newsroom Neal
Film
2008 Slumdog Millionaire Jamal Malik Black Reel Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture
Black Reel Award for Best Breakthrough Performance
Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Young Performer
Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Most Promising Newcomer
Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Award for Best Newcomer
Nominated — BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role
Nominated — British Independent Film Award for Most Promising Newcomer
Nominated — European Film Award for Best Actor
Nominated — London Critics Circle Film Award for Best British Actor
Nominated — NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Motion Picture
Nominated — Saturn Award for Best Actor
Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Supporting Role		 Protagonist
Won 7 BAFTAs and 8 Oscars
2010 The Last Airbender Zuko Nominated - Razzie Award for Worst Supporting Actor
Nominated - Razzie Award for Worst Screen Couple (with the entire cast)
2011 Skins [44] Anwar Kharral Spin-off of the TV series.
2012 The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel Sonny Kapoor
2012 Cherry

Awards and nominations

Won

Nominated

References

  1. ^ Births, Marriages & Deaths Index of England & Wales, 1984-2004. Gives name at birth as "Dev Patel".
  2. ^ Dev Patel at the Internet Movie Database
  3. ^ a b c "Nominees | 14th Annual Critics Choice Awards". VH1. 2009. http://www.vh1.com/shows/events/critics_choice_awards/_2009/nominees.jhtml?id=bestyoungactor. Retrieved 2009-01-09. 
  4. ^ a b Feinberg, Scott (interviewer); Patel, Dev (actor) (2008-10-15) (MP3). Podcast: Scott puts "Slumdog" star Dev Patel back in the hot seat!. Los Angeles Times. http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/files/2008/10/exclusive-podca.html. Retrieved 2009-03-26. 
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h Burrows, Tim (2008-12-01). "Slumdog Millionaire: Dev Patel hits the jackpot". The Daily Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/3563887/Slumdog-Millionaire-Dev-Patel-hits-the-jackpot.html. Retrieved 2009-03-26. 
  6. ^ Tilley, David (2009-01-20). "Slumdog Millionaire starring Dev Patel scoops nine Oscar nominations". Harrow Observer. http://www.harrowobserver.co.uk/west-london-news/local-harrow-news/2009/01/20/slumdog-millionaire-starring-dev-patel-scoops-nine-oscar-nominations-116451-22734029/. Retrieved 2009-03-26. 
  7. ^ "Dev Patel proud of quirks". NZ City. 2010-08-10. http://home.nzcity.co.nz/news/article.aspx?id=118369&fm=newsmain,nrhl. Retrieved 2010-10-07. 
  8. ^ a b c "Slumdog success story continues". Belfast Telegraph. 2009-01-22. http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/entertainment/film-tv/news/slumdog-success-story-continues-14152453.html. Retrieved 2009-01-22. 
  9. ^ Brady, Tara; Okyere, Elaine (2009-01-15). "Dev Patel praised by teachers". Harrow Observer. http://www.harrowobserver.co.uk/west-london-news/local-harrow-news/2009/01/15/dev-patel-praised-by-teachers-116451-22699333/. Retrieved 2009-01-24. 
  10. ^ a b "AIMAA World Championships". Rayners Lane Taekwon-do Academy. 2004-10-24. http://www.raynerslanetkd.com/REPORTS_2ndWorldChamps.html. Retrieved 2009-02-18. 
  11. ^ Dwyer, Michael (2009-01-10). "Mumbai millionaire". The Irish Times. http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/magazine/2009/0110/1231454466575.html. Retrieved 2009-03-26. 
  12. ^ "Dan Grades achieved at Rayner Lane Taekwon-do Academy Black Belt Gradings". Rayners Lane Taekwon-do Academy. 2006. http://www.raynerslanetkd.com/RL_Black_Belts.html. Retrieved 2009-01-06. 
  13. ^ Bailey, Mike (actor); Murray, Hannah (actor) (2008-08-08) (SWF). Cast weighs in on...Anwar. BBC America. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tUzstR1QDOk. Retrieved 2009-03-26. 
  14. ^ West, Dave (2008-05-07). "'Skins' wins Rose d'Or for best drama". Digital Spy. http://www.digitalspy.co.uk/tv/a95413/skins-wins-rose-dor-for-best-drama.html. Retrieved 2009-03-26. 
  15. ^ Gibson, Owen (2008-03-19). "Cranford wins three Bafta nominations". The Guardian. http://www.guardian.co.uk/media/2008/mar/19/television2. Retrieved 2009-03-26. 
  16. ^ "Philips Audience Award". British Academy of Film and Television Arts. 26 April 09. http://www.bafta.org/awards/television/philips-audience-award,712,BA.html. Retrieved 2009-04-27. 
  17. ^ Lane, Anthony (2008-12-01). "Slumdog Millionaire: The Film File". The New Yorker. http://www.newyorker.com/arts/reviews/film/slumdog_millionaire_boyle. Retrieved 2009-03-26. 
  18. ^ a b Roston, Tom (2008-11-04). "'Slumdog Millionaire' shoot was rags to riches". The Hollywood Reporter. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/features/awards-season/e3ib77f797483aeeed69fe2c15bcc9ccf4e. Retrieved 2008-11-12. 
  19. ^ Finlay, Nicki (reporter); Boyle, Danny (director); Patel, Dev (actor) (2008-11-05) (SWF). Prepare to Slum It With Slumdog Millionaire. Associated Press. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MydmOBOpSd0. Retrieved 2009-03-26. 
  20. ^ "Dev's harrowing Slumdog experiences". Metro. 2009-01-06. http://www.metro.co.uk/metrolife/films/article.html?Devs_harrowing_Slumdog_experiences&in_article_id=460964&in_page_id=27. Retrieved 2009-01-25. 
  21. ^ Dawtrey, Adam (2007-08-30). "Danny Boyle to direct 'Slumdog'". Variety. http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117971102.html?categoryid=13&cs=1. Retrieved 2008-01-15. 
  22. ^ "Ruslaan too good to be a slumdog!". Hindustan Times. 2009-01-14. http://www.htnext.in/StoryPage/StoryPage.aspx?sectionName=&id=ce1136cd-4ae6-4b57-9184-afbd66a70fe8. Retrieved 2009-03-26. 
  23. ^ Vieira, Meredith (interviewer); Patel, Dev (actor); Pinto, Freida (actor) (2008-11-21) (SWF). Dancing With the 'Slumdog' Stars. Today. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/27839806#27839806. Retrieved 2009-03-26. 
  24. ^ Yount, Stacey (2008-11-21). "'I wanted his eyes to say everything.' - Dev Patel". BollySpice.com. http://www.bollyspice.com/view.php/2037-i-wanted-his-eyes-to-say-everything-dev-patel.html. Retrieved 2009-03-27. 
  25. ^ a b "Winners Announced for the 11th British Independent Film Awards". British Independent Film Awards. 2008-11-30. http://www.bifa.org.uk/news/winners-announced-11th-british-independent-film-awards. Retrieved 2009-03-26. 
  26. ^ a b Murray, Rebecca (2008-12-05). "NBR Chooses 'Slumdog Millionaire' as the Best Film of 2008". About.com. http://movies.about.com/od/awards/a/nbr-winners2008.htm. Retrieved 2009-03-26. 
  27. ^ a b "Chicago Film Critics Awards - 2008". Chicago Film Critics Association. 2008. http://www.chicagofilmcritics.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=62&Itemid=60. Retrieved 2009-03-26. 
  28. ^ a b c "Cadillac, Slumdog & Bees are Triple Threats At Black Reed Awards". Daily Express. 2008-12-15. http://www.dailyexpress.co.uk/posts/view/75882/Cadillac,-Slumdog-&-Bees-are-triple-threats-at-Black-Reel-Awards/. Retrieved 2009-03-26. 
  29. ^ "'Slumdog' cast wins, 'Button' gets zip at SAG Awards". CNN. 2009-01-26. http://edition.cnn.com/2009/SHOWBIZ/Movies/01/25/sag.awards.winners/index.html. Retrieved 2009-03-26. 
  30. ^ a b "Nominations Announced for the 15th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards". Screen Actors Guild Awards. 2008-12-18. http://www.sagawards.org/PR_081218. Retrieved 2009-03-26. 
  31. ^ a b c Wootton, Dan (2009-02-05). "Slumdog's Dev misses out on awards". News of the World. http://www.newsoftheworld.co.uk/showbiz/xs/165657/-London-Film-Criticsrsquo-Circle-Awards-Kate-Winslett-wins-best-actress-but-Dev-Patel-loses-out-on-two-awards.html. Retrieved 2009-03-26. 
  32. ^ a b King, Susan (2009-01-07). "Tyler Perry gets double NAACP noms". Los Angeles Times. http://theenvelope.latimes.com/env-et-naacp-noms2009jan7,0,7269711.story. Retrieved 2009-03-26. 
  33. ^ a b c Farndale, Nigel (2009-02-06). "Slumdog Millionaire star Dev Patel: an underdog no more". The Daily Telegraph. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/4524146/Slumdog-Millionaire-star-Dev-Patel-an-underdog-no-more.html. Retrieved 2009-03-26. 
  34. ^ a b "Nominations for the European Film Awards 2009". European Film Academy. http://www.europeanfilmacademy.org/2009/11/07/nominations-for-the-european-film-awards-2009/. Retrieved 2009-11-14. 
  35. ^ Horn, John (2009-02-23). "'Slumdog' strikes it rich with 8 Oscar wins". Los Angeles Times. http://theenvelope.latimes.com/awards/oscars/la-et-oscar23-2009feb23,0,6927250.story. Retrieved 2009-03-26. 
  36. ^ Earle, Alison (presenter); Patel, Dev (actor) (2009-02-05) (SWF). Miley Cyrus says sorry and Dev Patel's next film. ITN. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQdhZlg_uFg. Retrieved 2009-03-26. 
  37. ^ Fleming, Michael (2009-02-01). "Shyamalan cast floats on 'Air'". Variety. http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117999413.html?categoryid=13&cs=1&nid=2562. Retrieved 2009-02-03. 
  38. ^ Fernandez, Jay A. (2009-03-15). "Four more land 'Airbender' roles". The Hollywood Reporter. http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/hr/content_display/film/news/e3i68061ff8eae6a6377eae1f6e889f06b2. Retrieved 2009-03-26. 
  39. ^ Schroeder, Stan. "'The Commuter': A Short Film Shot Entirely With the Nokia N8". October 28, 2010
  40. ^ "Nokia N8 Product page". http://nokia.co.uk/n8. 
  41. ^ "Official Nokia UK Facebook announcement". http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=5340223&fbid=436147246522&id=143841031522. 
  42. ^ Dev Patel stars in film shot entirely with the Nokia N8
  43. ^ http://ibnlive.in.com/news/dev-patel-had-to-take-lessons-in-english/144907-8-67.html
  44. ^ http://www.nowmagazine.co.uk/celebrity-news/tv-news/472080/dev-patel-and-nicholas-hoult-sign-up-for-skins-movie/1/
  45. ^ Maxwell, Erin (2008-12-16). "Phoenix critics honor 'Slumdog'". Variety. http://www.variety.com/index.asp?layout=awardcentral&jump=news&id=critics&articleid=VR1117997460. Retrieved 2009-03-26. 
  46. ^ Torrance, Kelly Jane (2008-12-19). "Oscar race for best film wide open". The Washington Times. http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2008/dec/19/critics-picks/. Retrieved 2009-03-26. 
  47. ^ a b "Slumdog dominates UK film awards". BBC News. 2009-01-29. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/7859018.stm. Retrieved 2009-01-29. 
  48. ^ Sanford, James (2008-12-18). "Detroit Film Critics Society announces its awards". Kalamazoo Gazette. http://www.mlive.com/movies/index.ssf/2008/12/detroit_film_critics_society_a.html. Retrieved 2009-03-26. 
  49. ^ Thomas, Archie (2009-01-13). "Evening Standard unveils shortlist". Variety. http://www.variety.com/awardcentral_article/VR1117998438.html?nav=news&categoryid=1983&cs=1. Retrieved 2009-03-26. 

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