DEV PATEL began 2023 with the announcement of The Key Man, a Miramax miniseries telling the story of disgraced financier Arif Naqvi. The 33-year-old critically-acclaimed star is set to headline and executive produce the limited series. In August, Patel signed on to executive produce the documentary To Kill a Tiger, a grip ping and emotional journey of Ranjit, a farmer in the Indian state of Jharkhand, who forces a social reckoning after his 13-year-old daughter is the victim of a gang rape.
Directed and written Nisha Pahuja, To Kill a Tiger had its world premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival and then went to play in certain parts of the world with a major slate of theatres in North America screening it in October last year. “I had a visceral reaction while watching Nisha Pahuja’s tender and powerful story of a father’s love, and his determination to support his teenage daughter’s quest for jus tice,” Patel said in a statement. “In a culture where submission is common place, to challenge a centuries old system that has silenced the voices of victims is revolutionary.
Despite threats against the family and being ostracised in their community, they re mained unflinching in their resolve,” he added. In September 2023, Patel starred alongside Benedict Cumberbatch, Ralph Fiennes, and Ben Kingsley in Wes Anderson’s The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, an adaptation of a short story by Roald Dahl. The film premiered out-of competition at the 80th Venice International Film Festival on September 2023. The multiple award-winning actor is presently in news for his next film Monkey Man, which also marks his directorial debut. The film is scheduled to have its world premiere at South by Southwest on March 11, 2024. Patel was born and raised in Harrow, Lon don, to Gujarati Indian parents. He attended Longfield Primary School and later went to Whitmore High School.
Patel harboured ambitions of becoming an actor, participating in school plays and attending drama classes from early on. His passion for acting led him to audition for the role of Anwar Kharral, a British Asian Muslim teenager, in the E4 teen drama television series Skins. One of Patel’s most notable roles came in 2016 when he portrayed Saroo Brierley, a young man searching for his birth family in India, in the critically acclaimed film Lion. His poignant performance earned him widespread praise from critics and audiences alike. At the 70th British Academy Film Awards, Patel won the BAFTA Awards for Best Supporting Actor in Lion
