Nikesh Patel

{{short description|English actor (born 1985)}}

{{EngvarB|date=March 2018}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2018}}

{{Infobox person

| image = Nikesh Patel during an interview, June 2021.png

| caption = Patel in June 2021

| birth_name =

| birth_date =

| birth_place = Wembley, London, England

| alma_mater = {{Plainlist|

}}

| occupation = Actor

| years_active = 2012–present

| spouse = {{marriage|Nicola Thorp|2024}}

| children = 1

}}

Nikesh Patel is an English 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 (2021–2023), and the Amazon Prime thriller The Devil's Hour (2022–present).

Early life and education

Nikesh Patel was born in Wembley, North West London.{{cite web |url=https://www.burntroti.com/blog/representasian-with-nikesh-patel|work=Burnt Roti|title=#RepresentAsian with Nikesh Patel|author=Nosheen M|date=16 January 2019|access-date=18 February 2022}}{{better source needed|date=February 2022}} His parents are pharmacists. He completed his secondary education at the City of London School.{{cite news|url=https://www.standard.co.uk/showbiz/tv/everything-seemed-different-out-there-until-we-found-waitrose-jemima-west-and-nikesh-patel-on-10045052.html|work=Evening Standard|title='Everything seemed different out there — until we found Waitrose': Jemima West and Nikesh Patel on filming Indian Summers|first=Susannah|last=Butter|date=13 February 2015|access-date=18 February 2022}}

Patel graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in English from the University of Warwick in 2007. During his time at university, he discovered acting and played Othello in a student production.{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/women/life/nikesh-patel-indian-summers-was-my-poldark-moment---but-im-no-ex|work=The Sunday Telegraph|title=Nikesh Patel: 'Indian Summers was my Poldark moment - but I'm no exhibitionist'|first=Radhika|last=Sanghani|date=15 May 2016|access-date=18 February 2022}}{{subscription required}}

After graduating, Patel went on to train at the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, graduating in 2010. He was awarded the school's gold medal for acting that year.{{cite web|url=https://www.gsmd.ac.uk/youth_adult_learning/creative_business_support/guildhall_creative_entrepreneurs/meet_the_entrepreneurs/alumni_13_14/no_quills|work=Guildhall School of Music and Drama|title=No Quills {{!}} Nikesh Patel|access-date=18 February 2022}}{{Cite web|url=https://www.gsmd.ac.uk/about_the_school/news/view/article/winners_of_gold_medal_in_drama_and_technical_theatre_announced|work=Guildhall School of Music and Drama|title=Winners of Gold Medal in Drama and Technical Theatre announced|date=6 July 2010|access-date=18 February 2022}}

Career

=Theatre=

Patel got his professional start in the theatre, appearing in Anupama Chandrasekhar's play Disconnect at the Royal Court Theatre in 2010.{{cite web |url=https://royalcourttheatre.com/whats-on/disconnect-2|work=Royal Court Theatre|title=Disconnect|access-date=18 February 2022}} In 2011, Patel was part of the ensemble of the Royal Shakespeare Company's 50th birthday season{{cite news |url=https://www.playbill.com/article/royal-shakespeare-companys-50th-birthday-season-to-feature-patrick-stewart-pippa-nixon-and-more-com-175669|work=Playbill|title=Royal Shakespeare Company's 50th Birthday Season to Feature Patrick Stewart, Pippa Nixon and More|first=Mark|last=Shenton|date=31 January 2011|access-date=18 February 2022}} and appeared in The Taming of the Shrew (Petruchio), Macbeth (Donalbain) and The Merchant of Venice (Balthasar).{{cite web |url=https://bbashakespeare.warwick.ac.uk/people/nikesh-patel|work=British Black and Asian Shakespeare Performance Database|publisher=University of Warwick|title=Nikesh Patel|access-date=18 February 2022}}{{cite web|url=https://royalcourttheatre.com/cast/nikesh-patel|work=Royal Court Theatre |title=Nikesh Patel |access-date=18 February 2022}}

He had a role in Rona Munro's play Donny's Brain at the Hampstead Theatre in 2012{{cite web |url=https://www.hampsteadtheatre.com/news/2012/08/donnys-brain-full-casting-confirmed|work=Hampstead Theatre|title=Donny's Brain: Full Casting Confirmed|date=30 August 2012|access-date=18 February 2022}} and returned to the Royal Court in 2013 to appear in Abhishek Majumdar's play The Djinns of Eidgah.{{cite web |url=https://royalcourttheatre.com/cast-announced-for-the-djinns-of-eidgah_at-the-roy|work=Royal Court Theatre|title=Cast Announced for The Djinns of Eidgah_at the Royal Court Theatre|date=5 September 2013|access-date=18 February 2022}} Also in 2013, Patel had a role in Howard Brenton's play Drawing the Line at the Hampstead Theatre.{{cite web|url=https://www.ayoungertheatre.com/review-drawing-the-line-hampstead-theatre-howard-brenton|work=A Younger Theatre|title=Review: Drawing The Line, Hampstead Theatre |first=Jake|last=Orr|date=10 December 2013|access-date=18 February 2022}}

He appeared in Man, a production of three one-act plays by Tennessee Williams, at the Young Vic in 2015.{{cite web |url=https://directorsprogram.youngvic.org/whats-on/man|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190923160158/https://directorsprogram.youngvic.org/whats-on/man|archive-date=23 September 2019|work=Young Vic|title=Man: Three Plays by Tennessee Williams }}

=Television and film=

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.{{cite web |url=https://www.themortonreport.com/entertainment/television/shades-of-grey-interview-with-indian-summers-nikesh-patel|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210517041520/https://www.themortonreport.com/entertainment/television/shades-of-grey-interview-with-indian-summers-nikesh-patel|work=The Morton Report|title=Shades of Grey: Interview with Indian Summers' Nikesh Patel|first=Steve|last=Eramo|date=24 September 2015|archive-date=17 May 2021}}

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.{{cn|date=November 2024}}

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{{cite web |url=https://www.radiotimes.com/news/tv/2018-12-06/doctor-who-new-years-special-casts-charlotte-ritchie-nikesh-patel-and-daniel-adegboyega|work=Radio Times|title=Doctor Who New Year's special casts Charlotte Ritchie, Nikesh Patel and Daniel Adegboyega|first=Huw|last=Fullerton|date=6 December 2018|access-date=18 February 2022}} as well as Kash Khan, one of the seven lead characters in Mindy Kaling's 2019 miniseries adaptation of Four Weddings and a Funeral.{{cite news |url=https://www.pbs.org/newshour/arts/four-weddings-and-a-funeral-star-nikesh-patel-on-reimagining-the-rom-com|work=PBS NewsHour|title='Four Weddings and a Funeral' star Nikesh Patel on reimagining the rom-com|first1=Pavni|last1=Mittal|first2=Mori|last2=Rothman|first3=Michael D|last3=Regan|date=8 September 2019|access-date=18 February 2022}}

Patel appeared in the 2020 fantasy film Artemis Fowl, playing tech expert centaur Foaly.{{cite web |url=https://disney.co.uk/movies/artemis-fowl|work=Disney+|title=Disney {{!}} Artemis Fowl|access-date=18 February 2022}}{{cite web |url=http://collider.com/artemis-fowl-production-start-disney|work=Collider|title=Disney's 'Artemis Fowl' Officially Starts Production for Director Kenneth Branagh|first=Dave|last=Trumbore|date=12 March 2018|access-date=18 February 2022}} 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.{{cite web |url=https://www.mrporter.com/en-de/journal/the-portfolio/the-young-british-actors-to-watch-in-2019/4532|work=Mr Porter|title=The Young British Actors to Watch in 2019|first=Jessica|last=Punter|date=1 May 2019|access-date=18 February 2022}}

=Radio =

Patel played the lead role in BBC Radio 4's 2017 adaptation of Salman Rushdie's novel Midnight's Children.{{cite news|url=https://www.irishnews.com/magazine/entertainment/2017/08/14/news/nikesh-patel-calls-for-multicultural-education-on-partition-of-india-anniversary-1110004|work=The Irish News|title=Nikesh Patel calls for multicultural education on Partition of India anniversary|date=14 August 2017|access-date=18 February 2022}} In 2019 he played Arcite, one of the two title characters in the BBC Radio 3 production of William Shakespeare's Two Noble Kinsmen.{{Cite web |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m0004n73|work=BBC Radio 3|title=Drama on 3 {{!}} The Two Noble Kinsmen|date=28 April 2019|access-date=18 February 2022}}

Personal life

Patel married broadcaster and actress Nicola Thorp in August 2024,{{Cite journal|url=https://www.digitalspy.com/soaps/coronation-street/a61921962/coronation-street-nicola-thorp-marries-nikesh-patel/|title=Former Coronation Street star Nicola Thorp marries partner Nikesh Patel|journal=Digital Spy|first=Susannah|last=Alexander|date=20 August 2024|accessdate=6 September 2024}} having been in a relationship since 2021{{cite web|url=https://www.ok.co.uk/lifestyle/nicola-thorp-boyfriend-nikesh-patel-26815158|title=Inside former Corrie star Nicola Thorp's romance with actor Nikesh Patel|website=OK!|first=Natasha|last=Patel|date=27 April 2022}} and engaged since 2023.{{Cite journal |url=https://www.digitalspy.com/soaps/coronation-street/a42701316/coronation-street-nicola-thorp-starstruck-nikesh-patel-engaged/|title=Coronation Street's Nicola Thorp announces engagement to Starstruck's Nikesh Patel|journal=Digital Spy|first=Brenna|last=Cooper|date=30 January 2023|accessdate=27 March 2023}} Their daughter was born in January 2024.{{Cite web |last=Sansome |first=Jessica |date=2024-01-05 |title=Corrie's Nicola Thorp welcomes baby and shares first snap with poignant message |url=https://www.manchestereveningnews.co.uk/news/showbiz-news/former-coronation-street-star-nicola-28393575 |access-date=2024-04-20 |website=Manchester Evening News |language=en}}

The couple appeared in series five of the Channel 4 reality show Celebrity Hunted in April 2023.{{Cite web |url=https://www.ok.co.uk/lifestyle/inside-celeb-hunteds-nicola-thorp-29619102|title=Inside Celeb Hunted's Nicola Thorp romance with famous fiancé Nikesh Patel|website=OK!|first=Amy|last=Jones|date=4 April 2023|accessdate=5 May 2023}}

Filmography

class="wikitable"

! Year !! Title !! Role !! Notes

2012BedlamDanTV series
rowspan="2" | 2013JadooDeeFilm
Midsomer MurdersDev KardekTV series
2014Law and Order: UKTomTV series
2015HonourTanvirFilm
2015–2016Indian SummersAafrin DalalTV series
2016London Has FallenPradhanFilm
2017Halal DaddyRaghdan AzizFilm
rowspan="2" | 2019Doctor WhoMitch1 episode, "Resolution"
Four Weddings and a FuneralKash KhanTV series
rowspan="2" | 2020Man Like MobeenNaveedTV series
Artemis FowlFoalyFilm
2021The MezzotintNisbetTV short{{cite news |url=https://www.radiotimes.com/tv/fantasy/mark-gatiss-big-rt-interview|work=Radio Times|title=Mark Gatiss on his three ghost stories of Christmas and whether he'd return to Doctor Who |first=Huw |last=Fullerton|date=24 December 2021|access-date=18 February 2022}}
2021–2023StarstruckTomMain Role
2022–present

| The Devil's Hour

| Ravi Dhillon

| Main Role

2023

| The After

SalmanNetflix film
2025

|Picture this

|Akshay

|Romcom, in Prime video release

References

{{Reflist}}