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Dev Patel on acting: It asks you to perform & transform, I sometimes feel stuck in this cultural no man's land
Dev Patel has revealed about not being offered good acting roles post Slumdog Millionaire. Scroll to know more.
Dev Patel has opened up about expecting bigger roles after starring in the 2008 hit movie Slumdog Millionaire but none were offered to him. During an interview with The Guardian, via ET Canada, the actor, 31, has revealed to have waited ‘for an Indian role to come by’ where he could ‘put on a thick accent.’ Patel went ahead to speak of his co-star and then-girlfriend Freida Pinto who happened to have bagged some major roles, but was also being ‘type-cast’ as the ‘exotic beauty next to Caucasian leading men.’
The Green Knight actor said that there wasn’t anything else apart from ‘the cliches: goofy sidekick, taxi driver.’ Opening up on what he feels to be the ‘very essence of acting’, Patel said that it “asks for you to perform, transform, change.” However, he also showed concern about being “stuck in this cultural no man’s land.” “I am not British enough to be fully British, not Indian enough to be fully Indian,” Patel added.
While recalling the one time when he was cast in The Personal History of David Copperfield, Patel said that the directors, including Armando Lannucci, were not concerned about his skin colour. Sharing that he was the one who “fixated on it [his skin colour]”, Patel said that he then went on to play the role of Charles Dickens in Copperfield. Patel even opened up about asking whether the main protagonist’s mother would be brown, or about the way that the mother-son duo would arrive where they live.
When Lannucci said no about Patel’s character’s mother being brown, he recalled saying, “Look, I’m really appreciative, but I’m also sorry, because I know you’re going to face a barrage of comments. Because everyone’s going to be fixated on the colour of the lead’s skin.”
Commenting on being questioned about playing Indian characters, Patel strung a series of questions asking about where he is ‘allowed to exist’ in the industry. “You’re kind of like, ‘Where am I allowed to exist? How specific are we going to get with this? What does it mean to be an actor - to just be yourself? Am I only allowed to play a guy who’s 31 years old? Are you going to check my blood type?,” the actor noted.
