DEV PATEL
From Slumdog Millionaire to David Copperfield
Fans of British television were introduced to this talented actor in the first two seasons (or series if you are from the UK) of the teen drama Skins. But it was his feature film debut in Danny Boyle’s 2008 Oscar-winning film Slumdog Millionaire that propelled Dev Patel to a household name. In Slumdog Millionaire, Patel played the leading role of Jamal, an impoverished orphan from Mumbai who, after winning India’s version of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? must prove that he did not cheat. Patel received a BAFTA nomination for Best Actor and won the SAG Award for Best Supporting Actor.
Patel’s career continued to rise after the release of Slumdog Millionaire. Then he played Prince Zuko in The Last Airbender, M. Night Shyamalan’s live-action adaptation of the beloved series, Avatar: The Last Airbender. Critics and fans alike panned the film, but that didn’t damage Patel’s career. After that, he joined the ensemble cast of the hugely successful The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. He also returned to the sequel, The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. While the follow-up was not as well-received as the original, critics praised the performances of the film’s talented cast.
From 2012-2014, Patel took a break from film to join Aaron Sorkin’s HBO series, The Newsroom. After that show ended, he jumped right back into film, taking on roles in one project after another. And now, he has some exciting new movies on the horizon. Up first is The Personal History of David Copperfield, in which Patel plays the titular David Copperfield. Based on Charles Dickens’ novel David Copperfield, the movie chronicles Copperfield’s life from youth through early adulthood. So far, critics who have screened it are praising it. You can see it when it hits theaters on May 8, 2020.
Patel’s next exciting film is Green Knight. In this adaptation of the late 14th-century tale of Sir Gawain and The Green Knight, Patel stars as Sir Gawain. How well this movie sticks to the original story remains to be seen. Not many may be familiar with this legend set in King Arthur’s Court. After all, we usually think of another fable when we think of King Arthur.
