Himesh Patel: ‘Actors of colour are finally being considered for all roles’

BRITISH star Himesh Patel drew inspiration from Riz Ahmed and Dev Patel for opening doors for south Asian actors, but said the work of representation is far from done and he has set high standards for himself.

Patel’s latest film is Greedy People, a darkly comedic crime thriller from Potsy Ponciroli.

In the movie, which was premiered on Lionsgate Play last Friday (22), the actor features alongside Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Lily James, his co-star from Yesterday. Set in a small island town, Greedy People follows rookie cop Will Shelley (Patel) and his reckless partner Terry (Gordon-Levitt) after they stumble upon million dollars at a crime scene they inadvertently create.

Their decision to steal the money triggers chaos, drawing in various quirky townsfolk, Will’s pregnant wife (James), a shrimp business owner and a masseur, all driven by greed.

“It leads to a really thrilling climax. I thought the character was really interesting, his sort of contradictions and moral ethical position,” said Patel.

“And then, of course, I knew that Lily James was attached, we’ve worked together before, I had a great time. So I was happy to sort of dive into something very different with her,” he added.

The actor explained his initial reaction after reading the story of Greedy People – why does everyone keep making the worst decision possible at every given opportunity? Patel said, “What made it such a strong script for me was that it made sense. Evryone’s decisions made sense. It wasn’t anything that was done for the sake of escalating the story.

“It was kind of frustrating to read and go, ‘I just made the right decision.’ But at the same time, it made sense to me and it made my life sort of a bit easier as an actor to get into it,” he added.

Patel began his career on EastEnders and then shot to fame with Danny Boyle’s 2019 movie Yesterday. Since then, he has been part of Christopher Nolan’s sci-fi film Tenet, Adam McKay’s Don’t Look Up, dystopian series Station Eleven and now dark comedy Greedy People.

Growing up in the UK to Indian parents, Patel said it was only when he started working as an actor that he was exposed him to the barriers south Asian artistes face and that deepened his understanding of the challenges that lie ahead of him

“The feeling of like wanting to see yourself and not seeing yourself as much, I think I was perhaps only subconsciously aware of it when I was growing up. I was lucky I started acting when I was very young.

“It was when I started professionally working and I was working with other south Asian actors who had struggled to get to where they were, that I realised the battle that we kind of have,” Patel said in an interview.

The actor spoke of his pride in being part of a generation changing the conversation.

He is optimistic about making strides when it comes to inclusivity after seeing the careers of Ahmed and Dev Patel.

“Riz is a great example and Dev for me, he was a spearhead of everything that’s happened over the last many years. I feel Slumdog Millionaire was a real turning point and then the career he’s built off the back of that has been a real sort of calling card. It sets a bar.

“I take a lot of encouragement and I try to follow the example of people like that. I just think the only way I can navigate it is to set my bar high. I think we have to value ourselves highly and then we can get to where we need to get to,” he added.

Patel said another welcome change in the industry is that actors of colour are being roped in for parts that were earlier played by white actors.

Patel has played Jack Malik in Yesterday, Phillip Kaj in Don’t Look Up, had a cameo as Dr John Watson in Enola Holmes 2, and starred in Station Eleven.

“In terms of actors like myself and other actors of colour, being considered for roles that would otherwise have just gone to a white actor, I think that’s a positive thing for the industry,” the actor said.