Himesh Jitendra Patel (born 13 October 1990) is a British actor. He began his career portraying Tamwar Masood in the

BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...

soap opera A soap opera (also called a daytime drama or soap) is a genre of a long-running radio or television Serial (radio and television), serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term ''soap opera'' originat ...

EastEnders ''EastEnders'' is a British television soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the East End of London, the ...

'' (2007–2016). On television, this was followed by roles in the

Channel 4 Channel 4 is a British free-to-air public broadcast television channel owned and operated by Channel Four Television Corporation. It is state-owned enterprise, publicly owned but, unlike the BBC, it receives no public funding and is funded en ...

sitcom '' Damned'' (2016–2018) and the

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...

miniseries '' Station Eleven'' (2021)'','' earning a nomination for the

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie The Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie is an award presented annually by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS). It is given in honor of an actor who has delivered an outstanding pe ...

for the latter. Patel has starred in the films '' Yesterday'' (2019), '' Tenet'' (2020), ''

Don't Look Up ''Don't Look Up'' is a 2021 American political satire black comedy film written, co-produced, and directed by Adam McKay from a story he co-wrote with David Sirota. It stars an ensemble cast featuring Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence, R ...

'' (2021) and '' Greedy People'' (2024).

Early life

Patel was born on 13 October 1990 in Sawtry,

Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire (abbreviated Cambs.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the north-east, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfor ...

. His parents are both Indian Gujarati

Hindus 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 ...

. His mother was born in

Zambia Zambia, officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa. It is typically referred to being in South-Central Africa or Southern Africa. It is bor ...

and his father was born in

Kenya Kenya, officially the Republic of Kenya, is a country located in East Africa. With an estimated population of more than 52.4 million as of mid-2024, Kenya is the 27th-most-populous country in the world and the 7th most populous in Africa. ...

. He grew up speaking Gujarati. Patel attended Prince William School in

Oundle Oundle () is a market town and civil parish on the left bank of the River Nene in North Northamptonshire, England, which had a population of 6,254 at the time of the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census. It is north of London and south-wes ...

Northamptonshire Northamptonshire ( ; abbreviated Northants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the East Midlands of England. It is bordered by Leicestershire, Rutland and Lincolnshire to the north, Cambridgeshire to the east, Bedfordshi ...

. 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 Peterborough ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in the City of Peterborough district in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, England. The city is north of London, on the River Nene. A ...

. Later, he became a member of The Young Actors' Company in

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

, 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

. Patel did a paper round until he was 21.

Career

''EastEnders''

When he was 16, Patel received a call on the day of his

GCSEs The General Certificate of Secondary Education (GCSE) is an academic qualification in a range of subjects taken in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, having been introduced in September 1986 and its first exams taken in 1988. State schools ...

saying he had landed an audition for the British soap opera ''

'' 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. Himesh Patel

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 Daniel Francis Boyle (born 20 October 1956) is an English director and producer. He is known for his work on the films ''Shallow Grave (1994 film), Shallow Grave'' (1994), ''Trainspotting (film), Trainspotting'' (1996) and its sequel ''T2 Tra ...

, 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 David John Tennant (; born 18 April 1971) is a Scottish actor. He is best known for portraying the Tenth Doctor, tenth and Fourteenth Doctor, fourteenth incarnations of The Doctor (Doctor Who), the Doctor in the science fiction series ''Docto ...

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 A homeland is a place where a national or ethnic identity has formed. The definition can also mean simply one's country of birth. When used as a proper noun, the Homeland, as well as its equivalents in other languages, often has ethnic natio ...

.'' 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 ''Doctor Who'' is a British science fiction television series broadcast by the BBC since 1963. The series, created by Sydney Newman, C. E. Webber and Donald Wilson (writer and producer), Donald Wilson, depicts the adventures of an extraterre ...

'' 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 The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band formed in Liverpool in 1960. The core lineup of the band comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are widely regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatle ...

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

Eddie Redmayne Edward John David Redmayne OBE (; born 6 January 1982) is an English actor. His accolades include an Academy Award, a Tony Award, a British Academy Film Award, a Golden Globe Award, and two Olivier Awards. Redmayne began his professional ac ...

. Patel was cast as Emery Staines in ''The Luminaries,'' a mini-series based on the 2013 book by

Eleanor Catton Eleanor Catton (born 1985) is a New Zealand novelist and screenwriter. Born in Canada, Catton moved to New Zealand as a child and grew up in Christchurch. She completed a master's degree in creative writing at the International Institute of M ...

. The plot of the TV series differs from the book. Patel appears on the 2019

Children in Need ''BBC Children in Need'' is the BBC's UK Charitable organization, charity dedicated to supporting disadvantaged children and young people across the country. Established in 1980, the organisation has raised over £1 billion by 2023 through its ...

album. He sang

the Killers The Killers are an American Rock music, rock band formed in Las Vegas, Nevada, in 2001 by Brandon Flowers (lead vocals, keyboards, bass) and Dave Keuning (lead guitar, backing vocals). After the band went through a number of short-term bas ...

' 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 Max (known in other countries as, and soon to be reverted globally to HBO Max) is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. It is a proprietary unit of Warner Bros. Discovery Streaming on behalf of Home Box Of ...

limited series '' Station Eleven''. In 2020, Patel appeared as Jordan Hatwal in the comedy series '' Avenue 5'', starring

Hugh Laurie James Hugh Calum Laurie (; born 11 June 1959) is an English actor, comedian, singer, musician and writer. He first gained professional recognition as a member of the English comedy double act Fry and Laurie with Stephen Fry. Fry and Laurie act ...

. 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 Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

film ''

'', portraying Phillip Kaj, the unscrupulous journalist dating the astronomer,

Jennifer Lawrence Jennifer Shrader Lawrence (born August 15, 1990) is an American actress and producer. She is known for starring in both action film franchises and independent dramas, and her films have grossed over $6 billion worldwide. The List of high ...

's Kate Dibiasky, who is responsible for detecting the movie's

comet A comet is an icy, small Solar System body that warms and begins to release gases when passing close to the Sun, a process called outgassing. This produces an extended, gravitationally unbound atmosphere or Coma (cometary), coma surrounding ...

. 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. In 2023, he appeared in the

film Good Grief. In 2024, Patel starred alongside Elizabeth Olsen and

Alicia Vikander Alicia Amanda Vikander (; ; born 3 October 1988) is a Swedish actress. List of awards and nominations received by Alicia Vikander, Her accolades include an Academy Award and nominations for two Golden Globe Awards and three British Academy Film ...

in The Assessment, and led the

satire The Franchise, which was cancelled after one season. He will next reunite with

Christopher Nolan Sir Christopher Edward Nolan (born 30 July 1970) is a British and American filmmaker. Known for his Cinema of the United States, Hollywood Blockbuster (entertainment), blockbusters with complex storytelling, he is considered a leading filmma ...

in the fantasy epic

The Odyssey The ''Odyssey'' (; ) is one of two major epics of ancient Greek literature attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest surviving works of literature and remains popular with modern audiences. Like the ''Iliad'', the ''Odyssey'' is divi ...

Personal life

Patel is a supporter of

Tottenham Hotspur F.C. Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as simply Tottenham (, , , ) or Spurs, is a professional Association football, football club based in Tottenham, North London, England. The club itself has stated that it should always ...

He became a father in December 2020 of a daughter.

Filmography

Film

Television

Stage

Audio

Awards and nominations

Discography

Soundtrack albums

Other charted songs

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Patel, Himesh 1990 births Living people 21st-century English male actors Actors from Huntingdonshire (district) British people of Indo-Kenyan descent English male film actors English male soap opera actors English people of Indian descent English people of Gujarati descent English people of Kenyan descent English people of Zambian descent English rock singers Male actors from Cambridgeshire National Youth Theatre members