Dev Patel

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.

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.

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.

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.