Himesh Patel

Early life

Patel was born on 13 October 1990 in Sawtry, Cambridgeshire. His parents are both Indian Gujarati Hindus. His mother was born in Zambia and his father was born in Kenya. He grew up speaking Gujarati.

Patel attended Prince William School in Oundle, Northamptonshire. As a child, he began impersonating his favourite characters on television and film. When he was 11, he was cast in a school play, This Is Your Life, Santa Claus, as Michael Aspel. Upon the suggestion by a teacher, his parents then signed him up for a local theatre group, the Key Youth Theatre in Peterborough. Later, he became a member of The Young Actors' Company in Cambridge, where he also took film classes. He took piano lessons and bought himself an electric guitar and taught himself to play at the age of 13.

His parents ran a newsagent's shop in Cambridgeshire. Patel did a paper round until he was 21.

Career

''EastEnders''

When he was 16, Patel received a call on the day of his General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) exams that notified he had landed an audition for the British soap opera EastEnders through an agency in The Young Actors' Company. He finished his last exam and had his parents rush him to his audition. After his first audition a casting assistant saw him waiting outside the audition room and asked him to read for the casting director. Patel won the part of Tamwar Masood, and 1 October 2007 marked his first appearance on EastEnders. In 2011 Patel and Meryl Fernandes won the Inside Soap Award for Best Wedding.

Patel has also appeared in EastEnders: E20 as Tamwar. In 2011 he co-wrote episode one of series three with co-star Charlie G. Hawkins. In 2013 he filmed an internet spin-off of EastEnders called Tamwar Tales – The Life of an Assistant Market Inspector. Four episodes were aired weekly, starting on 25 July 2013. All four episodes and one behind-the-scenes clip are available on the EastEnders official website.

He played Tamwar for nine years until he left the show in 2016 to explore other opportunities. His last appearance was on 22 April 2016.

Short films

He has appeared in a number of short films. In 2014, he was cast as Pavan in the short film Two Dosas; the film won several awards, including Best Short Comedy at the London Short Film Festival and Best Comedy at the Aspen Film Festival. At the Shuffle festival, it won a third award, judged by Danny Boyle, who would later direct Patel in Yesterday (2019).

Patel portrayed The Suit in The Fox (2017), another comedy short by Henry Scriven.

He is working on a short film titled Is This Life? (2019).

In 2021, he acted in the short film Enjoy.

After ''EastEnders''

On 27 September 2016 he made his first appearance on TV since leaving EastEnders in the first episode of the Channel 4 sitcom Damned. He played ex-constable and social worker Nitin for 12 episodes in two six-episode series. He appeared in Rapscallions (2016), a short film by Henry Scriven.

In 2017 he was cast in Don Juan in Soho as "Vagabond" with David Tennant playing the titular character. Patel played Amit in an episode of the BBC comedy Climaxed in the same year. He made a short appearance as Mr. Glencuddy in the second episode of the comedy Motherland. He is credited as a producer for the 2017 feature film My Pure Land.

Patel has been credited as a voice actor in two Doctor Who audio stories. He voiced Biotech Dendry in Day of the Vashta Nerada as well as Engineer and Ayrton Valencia in The Lifeboat and the Deathboat.

In 2019, he made his film debut with his breakthrough role as Jack Malik in Danny Boyle's Yesterday (2019). He sings live throughout the film, covering various songs by The Beatles.

He appeared in The Aeronauts (2019) alongside Felicity Jones and Eddie Redmayne.

Patel was cast as Emery Staines in The Luminaries, a mini-series based on the 2013 book by Eleanor Catton. The plot of the TV series differs from the book. Patel appears on the 2019 Children in Need album. He sang the Killers' song, "All These Things That I've Done". According to an interview, Patel is working on his first original TV script with What Larks Productions.

In 2019, Patel joined the cast of HBO Max limited series Station Eleven. In 2020, Patel appeared as Jordan Hatwal in the comedy series Avenue 5, starring Hugh Laurie.

In 2020, Patel appeared in the film Tenet as Mahir, a fixer who initially helps Neil and the protagonist in their plot to steal the painting from the Oslo airport. Patel appears in the 2021 Netflix film Don't Look Up, portraying Phillip Kaj, the unscrupulous journalist dating the astronomer, Jennifer Lawrence's Kate Dibiasky, who is responsible for detecting the movie's comet. For his performance and along with the ensemble he received the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture nomination.

In 2022, Patel made an end credits cameo in Enola Holmes 2 as Dr. John Watson, a role he will reprise in a larger capacity for Enola Holmes 3. In 2023, he appeared in the Netflix film Good Grief. In 2024, Patel starred alongside Elizabeth Olsen and Alicia Vikander in The Assessment, and led the HBO satire The Franchise, which was cancelled after one season.

He reunited with Christopher Nolan in the fantasy epic The Odyssey.

Personal life

Patel is a supporter of Tottenham Hotspur F.C. He became a father to a girl in December 2020.

Filmography

Film

Television

Stage

Audio

Awards and nominations

Discography

Soundtrack albums

Other charted songs

References

References

1. "Can Himesh Patel really sing and play the guitar in the Yesterday movie?".
2. British Future. (2012-12-13). "EastEnders' Himesh Patel on his British identity".
3. (2019-06-27). "Himesh Patel masters the Beatles in 'Yesterday'".
4. "Himesh Patel".
5. (17 May 2019). "Meet Himesh Patel, Breakout Star of Yesterday".
6. (5 July 2019). "Talent spotted early – Peterborough's Himesh Patel in the biggest British movie of the summer, Yesterday".
7. (2019-06-17). "Star's 'amazing' time on Beatles film".
8. Fretts, Bruce. (2019-06-30). "'Yesterday' Star Himesh Patel Was Delivering Papers Not So Long Ago". The New York Times.
9. ""EastEnders: E20" Episode #3.1 (TV Episode 2011) – IMDb".
10. "EastEnders: Tamwar Masood in new online spin-off".
11. "BBC One – EastEnders – Tamwar Tales".
12. (2016-04-14). "EastEnders star Himesh Patel reveals guilt at leaving Tamwar Masood behind".
13. "London Short Film Festival, UK (2015)".
14. "TWO DOSAS".
15. "Nikesh Shukla Wins Another Award for Two Dosas".
16. "Danny Boyle judges cemetery film fest". BBC News.
17. "The Fox". [[IMDb]].
18. "Is This Life?". IMDb.
19. (7 July 2021). "Live Action-Short, ENJOY by Saul Abraham with Himesh Patel on Masculinity and Men’s Mental Health". Indie Activity.com.
20. Jeffery, Morgan. (2018-02-14). "Himesh Patel on a "darker" series two of Ch4's Damned".
21. "Rapscallions". IMDb.
22. (2017-02-03). "Final casting announced for 'Don Juan in Soho'".
23. BBC Three. (2017-04-02). "Festival Sex {{!}} Climaxed".
24. "My Pure Land". IMDb.
25. "5. The Diary of River Song Series 05 – The Diary of River Song – Big Finish".
26. "2. Doctor Who: Classic Doctors New Monsters Volume 02 – Doctor Who – Classic Series – Special Releases – Big Finish".
27. "'Yesterday' exclusive: Himesh Patel sings The Beatles live".
28. "The Aeronauts".
29. "The Luminaries".
30. "When is The Luminaries on TV? What's it about and who stars in it?".
31. (October 18, 2019). "Mackenzie Davis & Himesh Patel To Star In 'Station Eleven' HBO Max Limited Series".
32. Gallagher, Simon. (August 28, 2020). "Tenet Cast Guide: Where You Recognize The Actors From".
33. Westenfeld, Adrienne. (December 2021). "Himesh Patel Knows Disaster".
34. (28 February 2022). "SAG Awards: 'CODA' Makes History With Best Cast Win".
35. "Did You Spot Dr. Watson in 'Enola Holmes 2'?".
36. D'Alessandro, Anthony. (2022-10-17). "Dan Levy Feature Directorial Debut 'Good Grief' At Netflix Sets Ruth Negga, Himesh Patel, Luke Evans & More".
37. Gyarkye, Lovia. (2024-09-09). "'The Assessment' Review: Elizabeth Olsen, Alicia Vikander and Himesh Patel Star in a Sci-Fi Chamber Drama That Impresses, Until It Doesn't".
38. Andreeva, Nellie. (2025-01-03). "'The Franchise' Canceled By HBO After One Season".
39. Kroll, Anthony D'Alessandro,Justin. (2025-01-31). "Himesh Patel, Elliot Page, Bill Irwin & Samantha Morton Set Voyage For Christopher Nolan's 'The Odyssey'".
40. (22 July 2020). "Himesh Patel – actor, rising star, Spurs fan".
41. Patalay, Ajesh. "Mr Himesh Patel's Time Is Now".
42. Shafer, Ellise. (October 2, 2024). "Peter Dinklage, Jessica Gunning, Himesh Patel and More to Star in Audible Adaptation of Agatha Christie's 'The Mysterious Affair at Styles' (EXCLUSIVE)".
43. "28th Annual Screen Actors Guild Awards".
44. Moreau, Jordan. (July 12, 2022). "Emmys 2022: Complete Nominations List". [[Variety (magazine).
45. "Top 200 Albums: Billboard 200 (July 13, 2019)". Billboard.
46. "Yesterday (Original Motion Picture Soundtrack) by Himesh Patel on Apple Music".
47. "Top Rock Songs Chart (July 13, 2019)". Billboard.