Harish Patel (; born 5 July 1953) is an Indian

character actor A character actor is an actor known for playing unusual, eccentric, or interesting character (arts), characters in supporting roles, rather than leading ones.28 April 2013, The New York Acting SchoolTen Best Character Actors of All Time Retrie ...

. He has appeared in a variety of

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

films, but in recent years has begun to appear in American projects like reimagination of ''

Four Weddings and a Funeral ''Four Weddings and a Funeral'' is a 1994 British romantic comedy film directed by Mike Newell. It is the first of several films by screenwriter Richard Curtis to star Hugh Grant, and follows the adventures of Charles (Grant) and his circle of ...

'' on Hulu and the MCU film '' Eternals''. Although mainly associated with the stage, he has appeared in Indian and British films and television shows.

Early life and background

Patel was born in

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

Bombay State Bombay State was a large Indian state created in 1950 from the erstwhile Bombay Province, with other regions being added to it in the succeeding years. Bombay Province (in British India roughly equating to the present-day Indian state of Mah ...

(now

Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...

), India. He began performing at the age of seven, when he played male and female roles in the

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

epic ''

Ramayana The ''Ramayana'' (; ), also known as ''Valmiki Ramayana'', as traditionally attributed to Valmiki, is a smriti text (also described as a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic) from ancient India, one of the two important epics ...

''.

Acting career

He made his film debut in '' Mandi'' directed by

Shyam Benegal Shyam Benegal (14 December 1934 – 23 December 2024) was an Indian film director, screenwriter and documentary filmmaker. Often regarded as the pioneer of parallel cinema, he is widely considered as one of the greatest filmmakers post 1970s. H ...

in 1983. From 1994 to 2008, Patel worked with the Indian theatre director Satyadev Dubey. In 1995, he joined the Indian National Theatre and appeared in the play ''Neela Kamra''. His repertoire has included classical and modern Indian plays as well as plays by Western writers, e.g.,

Pinter Harold Pinter (; 10 October 1930 – 24 December 2008) was a British playwright, screenwriter, director and actor. A Nobel Prize winner, Pinter was one of the most influential modern British dramatists with a writing career that spanned ...

's '' The Caretaker'',

Sartre Jean-Paul Charles Aymard Sartre (, ; ; 21 June 1905 – 15 April 1980) was a French philosopher, playwright, novelist, screenwriter, political activist, biographer, and literary critic, considered a leading figure in 20th-century French ph ...

's ''

No Exit ''No Exit'' (, ) is a 1944 existentialist French play by Jean-Paul Sartre. The play was first performed at the Théâtre du Vieux-Colombier in May 1944. The play centers around a depiction of the afterlife in which three deceased characters a ...

'', Camus' '' Cross Purpose'', Ionesco's '' The Lesson'', and Mrozek's '' Vatzlav''. In the spring of 2007, Patel took the lead role of Eeshwar Dutt in '' Rafta, Rafta...'', a comedy written by Ayub Khan-Din and directed by Nicholas Hytner at the National Theatre in London to critical acclaim and sellout audiences. His credits include '' The Buddha of Suburbia'', '' China Gate'', '' Mr India'' and '' Run Fatboy Run''. In 2009 he appeared in ''

Coronation Street ''Coronation Street'' (colloquially referred to as ''Corrie'') is a British television soap opera created by ITV Granada, Granada Television and shown on ITV (TV network), ITV since 9 December 1960. The programme centres on a cobbled, terraced ...

'' playing the role of Umed,

Dev Alahan Dev Alahan is a fictional character from the Television in the United Kingdom, British ITV (TV network), ITV soap opera ''Coronation Street''. Portrayed by Jimmi Harkishin, the character's first appearance was broadcast on 10 November 1999. He i ...

's uncle. Patel also appeared in '' Mr Stink'', '' Gangsta Granny'', '' The Boy in the Dress'' and '' Billionaire Boy'', the television film adaptations of children's books by

David Walliams David Edward Williams (born 20 August 1971), known professionally as David Walliams (), is an English actor, comedian, writer, and television personality. He is best known for his work with Matt Lucas on the BBC sketch comedy series '' Little ...

. He plays shopkeeper Raj in all the films, although they are set in different places. His acting career has taken him all over India, and he has performed in the United Kingdom and abroad, in the United States and

Dubai Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...

among other countries. Patel is a life member of the Cine & TV Artists Association of India. He is well known for his catchphrase "gayee bhains paanee mein" (the buffalo entered the water), in the movie '' Mr. India''. Additionally, he garnered international recognition after starring in

Marvel Studios Marvel Studios, LLC, formerly known as Marvel Films, is an American film and television production company. Marvel Studios is the creator of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), a media franchise and shared universe of films and television ser ...

' '' Eternals'' as Karun. When interviewed regarding the film, Harish admitted to never watching a Marvel film before or even seeing

Angelina Jolie Angelina Jolie ( ; born Angelina Jolie Voight, , June 4, 1975) is an American actress, filmmaker, and humanitarian. The recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Angelina Jolie, numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards ...

Salma Hayek Salma Valgarma Hayek Pinault ( , ; ; born September 2, 1966) is a Mexican and American actress and film producer. She began her career in Mexico with starring roles in the telenovela ''Teresa (1989 TV series), Teresa'' (1989–1991) as well a ...

films before.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Patel, Harish 1953 births Living people 20th-century Indian male actors 21st-century Indian male actors Indian male film actors Indian male soap opera actors Indian male television actors Male actors in Hindi cinema Male actors from Mumbai