Dev Patel plays Jamal Malik, an orphan from the slums of Mumbai (Bombay), India, who learns all the right answers in director Danny Boyle’s Slumdog Millionaire.
Patel's early years
Patel’s origins aren’t quite so squalid — he calls Harrow, London, England, home, and it’s where he was born on April 23, 1990. He aced drama in high school, according to wikipedia.com, and auditioned for — and got — a role on the teen drama, Skins.
Boyle’s daughter, a fan of Skins, recommended Patel to her dad for the role of Jamal. Boyle had mulled over hundred of actors for the lead part, but had found they were too muscular — hardly the look of someone bred in the slums. Patel’s average-Joe appearance helped him land the role after a few auditions.
Working on Slumdog Millionaire
To prepare for the part, Patel accompanied Boyle on location scouting trips to Mumbai and even spent a day in a call centre. Patel has said he had to learn how to speak with a Bombay accent himself, by listening to people around him, since he didn’t have a voice coach. Slumdog Millionaire is based on the book titled Q&A, but Patel didn’t read it, choosing to stick with the script instead.
“That was a real eye-opener, really,” Patel told www.cinemablend.com about observing the Mumbai slums. “It was an overwhelming sense of community. Everyone knew everyone, and they were all happy. And like Danny says, they're proud of where they live.”
Awards for Slumdog Millionaire
Then the accolades came. Patel has earned a handful of awards for his performance in Slumdog Millionaire, his most recent ones being honours from the British Independent Film Awards for Most Promising Newcomer, and the Chicago Film Critics Association Awards for Most Promising Performer.
The movie has led Patel to North America, where he appeared at the Toronto International Film Festival in September 2008, and on “The Late Show With David Letterman” in November 2008.
Next up? A possible Oscar nomination. Those nominations will be announced on Jan. 22, 2009. Patel also plans to read some more scripts and go back to auditioning for roles.
Patel dealing with fame
Since the release of Slumdog Millionaire, life has been a surreal experience for Patel.
“By day, I've got the leading role in a movie, in spite of having no acting training and very little experience. That's weird in itself,” Patel said in an interview with the Daily Mail. “By night, my Mum nags me to tidy my room.”
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