Nikesh Patel

Nikesh Patel (born 1985) is a British-Indian actor, best known for his role as Aafrin Dalal in the TV series Indian Summers.

Nikesh Patel
Born1985 (age 35–36)
Wembley, London, England
NationalityBritish, Indian
OccupationActor
Years active2012–present

Early life

Patel was born in Wembley, London.[1] His parents are pharmacists. He completed his secondary education at the City of London School.[2] He initially wanted to become a journalist but turned to acting while at university.[3]

Career

Patel started acting during his time reading English at Warwick University, where he played Othello in a student production.[4][5] After graduating with a BA in English Literature, Patel then went on to train at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama.[4] He graduated from Guildhall in 2010 and was awarded the school's Gold Medal for Acting that year.[6][7]

Theatre

Patel got his professional start in the theatre, appearing in Anupama Chandrasekhar's play Disconnect at the Royal Court Theatre in 2010.[8] In 2011, Patel was part of the ensemble of the Royal Shakespeare Company's 50th birthday season[9] and appeared in The Taming of the Shrew (Petruchio), Macbeth (Donalbain) and The Merchant of Venice (Balthasar).[10][11] He had a role in Rona Munro's play Donny's Brain at the Hampstead Theatre in 2012[12] and returned to the Royal Court Theatre in 2013 to appear in Abhishek Majumdar's play The Djinns of Eidgah.[13] Also in 2013, Patel had a role in Howard Brenton's play Drawing the Line at the Hampstead Theatre.[14] He appeared in Man, a production of three one-act plays by Tennessee Williams, at the Young Vic in 2015.[15]

Television, film and radio

Patel's first television credit was playing the part of Dan in the TV series Bedlam, which was followed by roles in single episodes of Midsomer Murders and Law and Order: UK.[16] In 2015, he played Tanvir in the film Honour, directed by Shan Khan. He was then cast as one of the leads in the TV series Indian Summers, playing Aafrin Dalal for two seasons. In 2016, he played Raghdan Aziz in the film Halal Daddy and Pradhan in London Has Fallen. In 2017, he played the lead role in a BBC Radio 4 adaptation of Salman Rushdie's novel Midnight's Children.[17] Also for radio, Patel played Arcite, one of the two title characters in the BBC 3 production of William Shakespeare's Two Noble Kinsmen, first broadcast in April 2019.[18]

2019 saw Patel take on roles in two high-profile television shows: He played Mitch in the Doctor Who New Year's Day special episode, Resolution[19] as well as Kash Khan, one of the seven lead characters in Mindy Kaling's 2019 miniseries adaptation of Four Weddings and a Funeral on Hulu.[20]

Patel co-starred in Walt Disney Pictures's Artemis Fowl, a fantasy film based on Eoin Colfer's bestselling YA fantasy novel, directed by Kenneth Branagh. He played tech expert centaur Foaly. The final stage of the audition process was a screen-test in which he had to perform on stilts to realistically emulate being half man, half horse like Foaly.[21] The film was released in June 2020.[22][23] After his role in London Has Fallen, this was Patel's second major Hollywood film production.

Filmography
YearTitleRoleNotes
2012BedlamDanTV series
2013JadooDeeFilm
2013Midsomer MurdersDev KardekTV series
2014Law and Order: UKTomTV series
2015HonourTanvirFilm
2015–2016Indian SummersAafrin DalalTV series
2016London Has FallenPradhanFilm
2017Halal DaddyRaghdan AzizFilm
2019Doctor WhoMitch1 episode, "Resolution"
2019Four Weddings and a FuneralKash KhanTV series
2020Man Like MobeenNaveedTV series
2020Artemis FowlFoalyFilm

References
  1. M, Nosheen (16 January 2019). "#RepresentAsian with Nikesh Patel". Burnt Roti. Retrieved 2 March 2020.
  2. "'Everything seemed different out there — until we found". Evening Standard. 13 February 2015. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
  3. "#RepresentAsian with Nikesh Patel | South Asian Lifestyle". Burnt Roti. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
  4. "Nikesh Patel Telegraph article". The Telegraph. Retrieved 31 March 2018.
  5. "Nikesh Patel and Jemima West Evening Standard article". London Evening Standard. Retrieved 31 March 2018.
  6. "Guildhall Creative Entrepreneurs – No Quills, Nikesh Patel". www.gsmd.ac.uk. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
  7. "Winners of Gold Medal in Drama and Technical Theatre announced". www.gsmd.ac.uk. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
  8. "Disconnect". Royal Court. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
  9. Shenton, Mark (31 January 2011). "Royal Shakespeare Company's 50th Birthday Season to Feature Patrick Stewart, Pippa Nixon and More". Playbill. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
  10. "Nikesh Patel | BBA Shakespeare". bbashakespeare.warwick.ac.uk. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
  11. "NIKESH PATEL". Royal Court. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
  12. "Donny's Brain: Full Casting Confirmed". Hampstead Theatre. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
  13. "Cast Announced for The Djinns of Eidgah_at the Royal Court Theatre". Royal Court. 5 September 2013. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
  14. Orr, Jake (10 December 2013). "Review: Drawing The Line, Hampstead Theatre". A Younger Theatre. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
  15. "Man". Young Vic. Archived from the original on 23 September 2019. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
  16. "Nikesh Patel Morton Report interview". Morton Report. Retrieved 31 March 2018.
  17. "Nikesh Patel Irish News interview". Irish News. Retrieved 31 March 2018.
  18. "BBC Radio 3 - Drama on 3, The Two Noble Kinsmen". BBC. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
  19. "Doctor Who New Year's special casts Charlotte Ritchie, Nikesh Patel and Daniel Adegboyega". Radio Times. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
  20. "'Four Weddings and a Funeral' star Nikesh Patel on reimagining the rom-com". PBS NewsHour. 8 September 2019. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
  21. Punter, Jessica. "The Young British Actors to Watch in 2019". mrporter.com. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
  22. Disney's Artemis Fowl - Trailer & Release Date | Disney UK, retrieved 23 September 2019
  23. Trumbore, Dave (12 March 2018). "Disney's 'Artemis Fowl' Officially Starts Production for Director Kenneth Branagh". Collider. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
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