LAST YEAR was special for British Indian actor Himesh Patel as he was nominated for the Emmy Awards for the first time. Patel was nominated in the Best Actor, Limited Series or TV Movie category for his performance in HBO's Station Eleven.
Most recently he provided a voice in the 2023 animated fantasy film The Amazing Maurice. In 2022, Patel made an end credits cameo in Enola Holmes 2 as Dr John Watson.
Himesh is best known for portraying Tamwar Masood on the BBC soap opera EastEnders. He also starred in the 2019 musical romantic comedy film Yesterday, the 2020 science fiction action film Tenet and the 2021 political comedy film Don't Look Up with Leonardo DiCaprio which earned him a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for Outstanding Cast in a Motion Picture.
Originally from Sawtry, Cambridgeshire, Himesh's parents are both Gujarati but they were born in Africa. His mother was born in Zambia and his father in Kenya.
After a long stint on iconic BBC soap EastEnders, the British actor got his big breakthrough with a lead role in hit Danny Boyle-directed comedy musical Yesterday. He has followed that up with major projects, including Tenet, science-fiction comedy series Avenue 5 and mini-series Station Eleven.
“I did make a choice to make sure I didn’t do the same thing again and just kind of do something I knew I could. I always wanted to try and do something different with every project – make different turns and kind of challenge myself. So, it has been a choice on one level and I have also been lucky that the right projects have come along at the right time,” Patel told Eastern Eye in an interview about his selection of roles.
“When it comes to period stuff, I think it's great to see South-Asian actors get their foot in the door there, because it's nice to tell period stories and tell it in a way that reflects the world now. I was sometimes a bit lonely as a teenager. There was a cultural disconnect,” he said of his childhood.
“What we had on was BBC Asian Network and Bollywood sound-tracks - they were my reference points. But of course, where I grew up, I was one of two Indian guys in my school, and I didn't really have anyone else to share that with.”
The British Indian actor said that he is interested in the stories of Indian soldiers in the first World War and would love make it into movies.
“I am reading a really great book at the moment and hoping to work with the author, and maybe create something out of that. So that is something I do want to bring to life somehow,” he said.
According to the actor, actors and filmmakers who push boundaries always inspire him.
“There are some amazing artists out there! Not just actors, but filmmakers and artists of all kinds who are pushing boundaries, refusing to be pigeonholed and asking questions of society, our attitudes, and how we look at each other. That inspires me to make sure the work I do is of a certain quality and saying something, implicitly or explicitly, and makes me want to not rest on my laurels, and keep pushing the envelope with work,” he told Eastern Eye.
