DEV PATEL

Dev Patel (Gujarati: દેવ પટેલ; born 23 April 1990) is a British actor. He is best known for playing Jamal Malik in Danny Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire (2008), for which Patel won a number of awards, including a Critics' Choice Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award. Patel is also known for his role as Anwar Kharral in the British teen drama series Skins.

Patel was born in Harrow, England, to Indian parents, both of whom were born in Nairobi, Kenya, where there is a significant Indian community. His parents both emigrated from Kenya separately in their teens, and only met in London. His mother, Anita, is a carer, and his father, Raj, an IT consultant. He has one sibling, an older sister named Trushna who works for the Racing Post in Canary Wharf, London. He was raised in the Hindu faith.
Patel grew up in Rayners Lane, Harrow, and attended Longfield Middle School. He had his first acting role as Sir Andrew Aguecheek in the school's production of Twelfth Night. Patel was given the Best Actor award for his performance and says that was the day he knew he wanted to become an actor.^{[citation needed]} He later went to Whitmore High School, receiving an A* in GCSE Drama, for his "self-penned portrayal of a child in the Beslan school siege". His drama teacher Niamh Wright has stated: "Dev was a gifted student who quickly impressed me with his innate ability to communicate a wide variety of characters imaginatively and creatively. He was awarded full marks for his GCSE performance to a live audience and the visiting examiner was moved to tears by his honest portrayal". He eventually completed his AS Levels in PE, Biology, History and Drama in 2007, while he was working in Skins.