Dev Patel - Film & Theater Personalities, Birthday and Childhood

Dev Patel was born on 23 April 1990 in London Borough of Harrow, England. He is the son of Raj Patel, an IT consultant of Indian-Guajarati origin, and Anita Patel, a care worker.

The actor attended Longfield Middle School at Harrow. While there, he actively participated in drama and showcased his acting skills in stage performances.

He also participated in various extracurricular activities where he was particularly successful. He was a self-proclaimed energetic child, and his high energy would often get him into trouble with the teachers.

In 2000, he took up Taekwondo and through the years competed regularly in both national and international championships. He was fairly successful in the martial arts and won several medals for his school.

Patel had his first acting role in his school’s reproduction of Williams Shakespeare’s ‘Twelfth Night’. For portraying the role of Sir Andrew Aguecheek, he won the Best Actor award.

He later went on to the attend Whitmore High School where he continued participating in dramatics. His gifts in acting quickly came to the fore and he was able to successfully move live audiences through his authentic performances. Eventually he earned an A in General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) in drama and completed his AS Levels with distinction.

During his last year at Whitmore, his mother saw a casting ad for the drama series ‘Skins’. She eagerly took him for the audition the very next day even though he had a science exam the same day!

After appearing for two auditions, Patel was cast in the role of Anwar Kharral, a British Pakistani Muslim teenager. Due to his lack of any experience in professional acting, he confessed that he didn’t have any idea about what to do on the first day.

In 2007, Dev Patel began his acting career in the British television series ‘Skins’, where he played the role of Anwar for two consecutive seasons.

The actor got his first big break in 2008, when he played the lead character in director Danny Boyle’s feature film ‘Slumdog Millionaire’. Boyle was introduced to the young actor by his daughter Caitlin Boyle, who was a fervent fan of the TV series ‘Skins’.

By the end of 2008, Patel had won numerous awards for his lead role in the Oscar winning film ‘Slumdog Millionaire’. This included a British Independent Film Award, the National Board of Review (NBR) Award, and the Chicago Film Critics Association Award, to name a few.

In July 2010, he played the villain in M. Night Shyamalan's fantasy film ‘The Last Airbender’. The movie was a commercial success; however, it received very negative reviews, with some critics even calling it a critical failure. To everyone’s surprise, Dev received a Razzie Award nomination for the Worst Supporting Actor, calling his role ‘the befuddled Zuko’!

In 2011, he co-starred in the British comedy-drama film ‘The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel’, alongside A-list celebrities Judi Dench, Bill Nighy, Maggie Smith and Tom Wilkinson. As his native English accent was very strong, the actor had to take voice lessons for six months to perfect his Indian-English accent.

The film went on to become a surprise box-office hit worldwide, and ranked among the highest-grossing films of the year in Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. The film received critical acclaim, with some applauding the actor’s natural comedic skills and overwhelming physical presence in the film.

From 2012-14, he played the role of an enthusiastic news blogger in the hit series ‘The Newsroom’. During the same time, he appeared alongside actors James Franco and Heather Graham in the drama film ‘About Cherry’. The film premièred at the 2012 Berlin International Film Festival; however, it was received with lukewarm reviews and didn’t perform well at the box office.

In 2014, the actor starred in the much-awaited film ‘The Road Within’, alongside actors Robert Sheehan and Zoë Kravitz. The film was highly anticipated, mainly owing to its out-of-the box premise about three unlikely friends who go on a road trip together. However, it received generally mixed reviews and was let down by the mediocre acting performances which some described as over-the-top and too tidy.

In 2016, the actor got his next big role playing Saroo Brierley in the biographical film ‘Lion’. The film starred actors Nicole Kidman and Rooney Mara and was directed by visionary director Garth Davis. The film premiered on 10 September 2016 at the Toronto International Film Festival to rave reviews and immense Oscar hype. For his heart wrenching portrayal as the adult Saroo, Dev Patel won a BAFTA award for Best Supporting Actor and received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actor.

Dev Patel played a central character in Danny Boyle's film ‘Slumdog Millionaire’. The movie was released in 2008 with much hype and fanfare, and was applauded for its realistic depiction of poverty in India. The film managed to win eight Oscar awards including Best Picture and Best Director. The film is also remembered for its original sound track by acclaimed music composer AR Rahman, who produced songs like ‘Jai Ho’, which live in the hearts and minds of people even today.

The 2016 biographical drama ‘Lion’ is undoubtedly the actor’s most acclaimed film role. The film tells the story of young Saroo Brierley, who is separated from his mother and elder brother at age five. He eventually lands on the streets of Calcutta, where he survives many challenges before being adopted by a couple in Australia. Twenty-five years later, he sets out to find his lost family in rural India. The movie moved audiences worldwide and received six Oscar nominations and won two BAFTAs, with one being awarded to Patel for Best Supporting Actor.

Over the years Dev Patel has received multiple awards in recognition of his contribution to cinema. However, he ranks his Oscar nomination for his role in ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ as his highest achievement. He was only 17 at that time of the movie’s release.

In 2008, the actor won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture for his performance in ‘Slumdog Millionaire.’

In 2016, the actor received the BAFTA award for Best Actor in a supporting role for his character in the biographical film ‘Lion’.

In 2009, Dev Patel began dating his Slumdog co-star Freida Pinto. The couple dated for six years before publically announcing their breakup.

The actor is currently dating Australian actress Tilda Cobham-Hervey. The two were spotted walking together in Los Angeles the day after the 2017 Oscars.

He is a very family oriented person. During the 2017 Oscars where the actor was nominated, he was accompanied by his mother on the red carpet.

He auditioned for the lead role in ‘Life of Pi,’ but was turned down by the producers because they thought he was overexposed.

For his part in ‘Lion,’ the actor had to prepare for eight months before the filming of the movie. The actor developed a new physique and completely changed his look.

As an Indian-British actor, it comes as no surprise that he’s played the poor Indian boy in many of his movies!