Lucy Briers

Dev Patel is a British actor of Indian Gujarati descent. He won a Golden Globe Award and an Oscar for Best Picture for his role as Jamal Malik in Danny Boyle's film Slumdog Millionaire. Born in 1990 in London, England, to Anita and Raj, who emigrated from Gujarat, India, he developed an interest in drama and theatre while attending Whitmore High School. While still in high school, he rose to prominence after portraying the Pakistani Muslim character Anwar Kharral in the first two seasons of Skins, a hugely popular British television series. This led to him landing the lead role in the award-winning 2008 film Slumdog Millionaire. Portraying the younger Jamal Malik, who experiences a difficult childhood in India, Patel subsequently began appearing in Hollywood productions. He starred in M. Night Shyamalan's The Last Airbender, and later in the two films of The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel series. In the 2014 road movie The Road Within, he played Alex, an obsessive-compulsive young man. He also appeared in the science fiction film Chappie and the biographical film The Theory of Everything. His performance as Saroo Brierley in the 2016 film Lion earned him widespread acclaim, a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actor, and a BAFTA Award. He was in a six-year relationship with actress Freida Pinto, whom he met on the set of Slumdog Millionaire, before they separated in late 2014. A black belt in taekwondo, Patel won a bronze medal at the 2004 World AIMAA Championships in Dublin.