Nikesh Patel
Patel in June 2021
Born1985 (age 38–39)
Wembley, London, England
Alma mater
OccupationActor
Years active2012–present
PartnerNicola Thorp (engaged)
Children1

Nikesh Patel (born 1985) is a British actor. He is known for his roles in the Channel 4 drama Indian Summers (2015–2016), the Hulu miniseries Four Weddings and a Funeral (2019), the BBC sitcom Starstruck (2021–present), and the Amazon Prime thriller The Devil's Hour (2022–present).

Early life

Patel was born in Wembley, North West London.[1] His parents are pharmacists. He completed his secondary education at the City of London School.[2]

Patel graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Warwick in 2007. During his time at university, he discovered acting[1] and played Othello in a student production.[3][2] After graduating, Patel went on to train at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, graduating in 2010.[3] He was awarded the school's gold medal for Acting that year.[4][5]

Career

Theatre

Patel got his professional start in the theatre, appearing in Anupama Chandrasekhar's play Disconnect at the Royal Court Theatre in 2010.[6] In 2011, Patel was part of the ensemble of the Royal Shakespeare Company's 50th birthday season[7] and appeared in The Taming of the Shrew (Petruchio), Macbeth (Donalbain) and The Merchant of Venice (Balthasar).[8][9] He had a role in Rona Munro's play Donny's Brain at the Hampstead Theatre in 2012[10] and returned to the Royal Court Theatre in 2013 to appear in Abhishek Majumdar's play The Djinns of Eidgah.[11] Also in 2013, Patel had a role in Howard Brenton's play Drawing the Line at the Hampstead Theatre.[12] He appeared in Man, a production of three one-act plays by Tennessee Williams, at the Young Vic in 2015.[13]

Television, film and radio

Patel's first television credit was playing the character Dan in the second series of the Sky Living series Bedlam. This was followed by roles in single episodes of Midsomer Murders and Law and Order: UK.[14] In 2015, he played Tanvir in the film Honour. He then had a leading role in the TV series Indian Summers, which ran for two seasons. In 2016, he played Raghdan Aziz in the film Halal Daddy and Pradhan in London Has Fallen. He played the lead role in BBC Radio 4's 2017 adaptation of Salman Rushdie's novel Midnight's Children.[15] In 2019 he played Arcite, one of the two title characters in the BBC Radio 3 production of William Shakespeare's Two Noble Kinsmen.[16]

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[17] as well as Kash Khan, one of the seven lead characters in Mindy Kaling's 2019 miniseries adaptation of Four Weddings and a Funeral.[18]

Patel appeared in the 2020 fantasy film Artemis Fowl, playing tech expert centaur Foaly.[19][20] 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.[21]

Personal life

Patel is engaged to broadcaster and actress Nicola Thorp,[22] having been in a relationship since 2021.[23] The couple appeared on the Channel 4 reality show Celebrity Hunted in April 2023.[24] In September, they announced they were expecting their first child.[25]

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
2012 Bedlam Dan TV series
2013 Jadoo Dee Film
2013 Midsomer Murders Dev Kardek TV series
2014 Law and Order: UK Tom TV series
2015 Honour Tanvir Film
2015–2016 Indian Summers Aafrin Dalal TV series
2016 London Has Fallen Pradhan Film
2017 Halal Daddy Raghdan Aziz Film
2019 Doctor Who Mitch 1 episode, "Resolution"
2019 Four Weddings and a Funeral Kash Khan TV series
2020 Man Like Mobeen Naveed TV series
2020 Artemis Fowl Foaly Film
2021–present Starstruck Tom Main Role
2021 The Mezzotint Nisbet TV short[26]
2022 The Devil's Hour Ravi Dhillon Miniseries

References

  1. ^ a b Nosheen M (16 January 2019). "#RepresentAsian with Nikesh Patel". Burnt Roti. Retrieved 18 February 2022.[better source needed]
  2. ^ a b Butter, Susannah (13 February 2015). "'Everything seemed different out there — until we found Waitrose': Jemima West and Nikesh Patel on filming Indian Summers". Evening Standard. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  3. ^ a b Sanghani, Radhika (15 May 2016). "Nikesh Patel: 'Indian Summers was my Poldark moment - but I'm no exhibitionist'". The Sunday Telegraph. Retrieved 18 February 2022.(subscription required)
  4. ^ "No Quills | Nikesh Patel". Guildhall School of Music and Drama. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  5. ^ "Winners of Gold Medal in Drama and Technical Theatre announced". Guildhall School of Music and Drama. 6 July 2010. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  6. ^ "Disconnect". Royal Court Theatre. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  7. ^ Shenton, Mark (31 January 2011). "Royal Shakespeare Company's 50th Birthday Season to Feature Patrick Stewart, Pippa Nixon and More". Playbill. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  8. ^ "Nikesh Patel". British Black and Asian Shakespeare Performance Database. University of Warwick. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  9. ^ "NIKESH PATEL". Royal Court Theatre. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  10. ^ "Donny's Brain: Full Casting Confirmed". Hampstead Theatre. 30 August 2012. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  11. ^ "Cast Announced for The Djinns of Eidgah_at the Royal Court Theatre". Royal Court Theatre. 5 September 2013. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  12. ^ Orr, Jake (10 December 2013). "REVIEW: DRAWING THE LINE, HAMPSTEAD THEATRE". A Younger Theatre. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  13. ^ "MAN | THREE PLAYS BY TENNESSEE WILLIAMS". Young Vic. Archived from the original on 23 September 2019.
  14. ^ Eramo, Steve (24 September 2015). "Shades of Grey: Interview with Indian Summers' Nikesh Patel". The Morton Report. Archived from the original on 17 May 2021.
  15. ^ "Nikesh Patel calls for multicultural education on Partition of India anniversary". The Irish News. 14 August 2017. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  16. ^ "Drama on 3 | The Two Noble Kinsmen". BBC Radio 3. 28 April 2019. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  17. ^ Fullerton, Huw (6 December 2018). "Doctor Who New Year's special casts Charlotte Ritchie, Nikesh Patel and Daniel Adegboyega". Radio Times. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  18. ^ Mittal, Pavni; Rothman, Mori; Regan, Michael D (8 September 2019). "'Four Weddings and a Funeral' star Nikesh Patel on reimagining the rom-com". PBS NewsHour. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  19. ^ "Disney | Artemis Fowl". Disney+. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  20. ^ Trumbore, Dave (12 March 2018). "Disney's 'Artemis Fowl' Officially Starts Production for Director Kenneth Branagh". Collider. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  21. ^ Punter, Jessica (1 May 2019). "The Young British Actors to Watch in 2019". Mr Porter. Retrieved 18 February 2022.
  22. ^ Cooper, Brenna (30 January 2023). "Coronation Street's Nicola Thorp announces engagement to Starstruck's Nikesh Patel". Digital Spy. Retrieved 27 March 2023.
  23. ^ Patel, Natasha (27 April 2022). "Inside former Corrie star Nicola Thorp's romance with actor Nikesh Patel". OK!.
  24. ^ Jones, Amy (4 April 2023). "Inside Celeb Hunted's Nicola Thorp romance with famous fiancé Nikesh Patel". OK!. Retrieved 5 May 2023.
  25. ^ Lewis, George (29 September 2023). "Coronation Street's Nicola Thorp expecting baby with Starstruck's Nikesh Patel". Digital Spy. Retrieved 21 October 2023.
  26. ^ Fullerton, Huw (24 December 2021). "Mark Gatiss on his three ghost stories of Christmas and whether he'd return to Doctor Who". Radio Times. Retrieved 18 February 2022.

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