Pushkin, Hey, it's Sam before we get rolling. This month actually marks the eight year anniversary of Talk Easy. I think we've done nearly four hundred episodes in that time with people I had long dreamt of sitting with when I first started the show back in twenty sixteen. People like Tom Hanks, Margaret Atwood, George Saunders, Questlove jumple of Hero, David byrd, Ethan Hawk, Zadi Smith, Oscar Isaac, Margot Jefferson, David Sedaris, Stacy Abrams. The list really does go on and on. I should also add both my mother and father have come on the program. If I don't mention them, I will get a call on a Sunday morning. And yet I have to say sometimes I really do feel like we're just getting started here, that there's so much left to do, so many people I'd still like to sit with, ideas and subjects that I want to explore in further detail. And so, if any of these four hundred ish conversations have stayed with you over the past eight years, inspired you to be more creative, or have just helped make meaning out of our brief time that we have here, I have a modest ask, emphasis on modest because it's not a lot. The first thing is to just share the show with a friend or a family member, or anyone that you think may be interested in the kinds of conversations we have here each and every week. Secondly, if you don't already, be sure to click the follow or subscribe button at the top of the platform that you're listening to this right now. I know that sounds very simple and silly, but both Spotify and Apple have updated their apps and in that process have like unfollowed and unsubscribed people. We did not take it personally, but I think also a lot of people don't know that this has happened. Regardless, you can follow and subscribe us on all the platforms. If you're on Spotify, you can actually click that little bell icon that way. Every time a new episode drops in the feed, you will receive a notification about it. The last thing, if you want to go above and beyond, and if you've already done one and two, the third thing you can do is just share the show on social media. We're at talk Easypod across all the platforms. You can always tag us if you'd like. We do try to share most of those in our feed when we can, and when we see them doing any or all of these things really does ensure that we can continue making this program each and every Sunday. And the last thing, not to get terribly sentimental, but if you're listening to this right now, whether it's your first time or the four hundredth time, thank you for being here. Because when I started the show in April of twenty sixteen, I was twenty one years old, fresh off a job at the Roxy Theater in San Francisco that I wasn't particularly good at. I didn't really know what I was going to do next, and there is no way I could have imagined that Talk Easy would turn into what it's become, that it would reach so many, mean so much to so many. So with that, to everyone who has reached out over the years, whether it's an email, a message on Instagram or Twitter, or in person at text, whatever you've done, or if you've just been quietly following along, thank you. Making something each week takes a lot out of all of us here that make it, and so every bit of encouragement that we've received, thank you for doing that, And it really does help us continue moving forward because it's not easy to continue moving forward. And with that, before I get even more sentimental, I'm just going to say, if you have any ideas for future episodes, you can always drop us a line at SF at talk easypod dot com. That's sf at talk easypod dot com. The newsletter is finally almost coming. I know I've been talking about it for like a year. You can subscribe to that by writing that email address sf at talk Easypod. You can also visit our website at talk easypod dot com, where there's a spot to subscribe. But eight years it's worth celebrating and acknowledging, and none of those years would have been possible without your listening. So thank you again. And with that, here is Dev Patel. This is Talk easy I'm standing for Gooso. Welcome to the show.

Pushkin, Hey, it's Sam before we get rolling. This month actually marks the eight year anniversary of Talk Easy. I think we've done nearly four hundred episodes in that time with people I had long dreamt of sitting with when I first started the show back in twenty sixteen. People like Tom Hanks, Margaret Atwood, George Saunders, Questlove jumple of Hero, David byrd, Ethan Hawk, Zadi Smith, Oscar Isaac, Margot Jefferson, David Sedaris, Stacy Abrams. The list really does go on and on. I should also add both my mother and father have come on the program. If I don't mention them, I will get a call on a Sunday morning. And yet I have to say sometimes I really do feel like we're just getting started here, that there's so much left to do, so many people I'd still like to sit with, ideas and subjects that I want to explore in further detail. And so, if any of these four hundred ish conversations have stayed with you over the past eight years, inspired you to be more creative, or have just helped make meaning out of our brief time that we have here, I have a modest ask, emphasis on modest because it's not a lot. The first thing is to just share the show with a friend or a family member, or anyone that you think may be interested in the kinds of conversations we have here each and every week. Secondly, if you don't already, be sure to click the follow or subscribe button at the top of the platform that you're listening to this right now. I know that sounds very simple and silly, but both Spotify and Apple have updated their apps and in that process have like unfollowed and unsubscribed people. We did not take it personally, but I think also a lot of people don't know that this has happened. Regardless, you can follow and subscribe us on all the platforms. If you're on Spotify, you can actually click that little bell icon that way. Every time a new episode drops in the feed, you will receive a notification about it. The last thing, if you want to go above and beyond, and if you've already done one and two, the third thing you can do is just share the show on social media. We're at talk Easypod across all the platforms. You can always tag us if you'd like. We do try to share most of those in our feed when we can, and when we see them doing any or all of these things really does ensure that we can continue making this program each and every Sunday. And the last thing, not to get terribly sentimental, but if you're listening to this right now, whether it's your first time or the four hundredth time, thank you for being here. Because when I started the show in April of twenty sixteen, I was twenty one years old, fresh off a job at the Roxy Theater in San Francisco that I wasn't particularly good at. I didn't really know what I was going to do next, and there is no way I could have imagined that Talk Easy would turn into what it's become, that it would reach so many, mean so much to so many. So with that, to everyone who has reached out over the years, whether it's an email, a message on Instagram or Twitter, or in person at text, whatever you've done, or if you've just been quietly following along, thank you. Making something each week takes a lot out of all of us here that make it, and so every bit of encouragement that we've received, thank you for doing that, And it really does help us continue moving forward because it's not easy to continue moving forward. And with that, before I get even more sentimental, I'm just going to say, if you have any ideas for future episodes, you can always drop us a line at SF at talk easypod dot com. That's sf at talk easypod dot com. The newsletter is finally almost coming. I know I've been talking about it for like a year. You can subscribe to that by writing that email address sf at talk Easypod. You can also visit our website at talk easypod dot com, where there's a spot to subscribe. But eight years it's worth celebrating and acknowledging, and none of those years would have been possible without your listening. So thank you again. And with that, here is Dev Patel. This is Talk easy I'm standing for Gooso. Welcome to the show.

Today.

Today.

I'm joined by actor and director Dev Pateel. Dev broke out over fifteen years ago in a film called slum Dog Millionaire, which won eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture. He was only eighteen years old at the time and had assumed, I think fairly that a fruitful acting career would follow, one filled with interesting, complex roles like the one Danny Boyle created to jumpstart his journey into movie making. But that's not exactly what happened. Instead, Hollywood did what it does best to people they don't understand, offered typecast, stereotypical roles that were caricatures of Patel, an Indian origin British actor. The roles verged on racist or at the very least one dimensional, and so for a decade, Patel fought through what he calls a sea of nothing, choosing choice parts and films like Hotel Mumbai, The Green Knight and Lion, for which he received a Best Supporting Actor nomination in twenty seventeen. He did all this while harboring another dream to step behind the camera and tell a story his grandfather had been telling him since he was a young boy growing up in Northwest London. That story, about a Hindu god who seeks retribution against corrupt leaders victimizing the poor, has now become Patel's directorial debut, a new movie called Monkey Man. Here's a clip from the trailer.

I'm joined by actor and director Dev Pateel. Dev broke out over fifteen years ago in a film called slum Dog Millionaire, which won eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture. He was only eighteen years old at the time and had assumed, I think fairly that a fruitful acting career would follow, one filled with interesting, complex roles like the one Danny Boyle created to jumpstart his journey into movie making. But that's not exactly what happened. Instead, Hollywood did what it does best to people they don't understand, offered typecast, stereotypical roles that were caricatures of Patel, an Indian origin British actor. The roles verged on racist or at the very least one dimensional, and so for a decade, Patel fought through what he calls a sea of nothing, choosing choice parts and films like Hotel Mumbai, The Green Knight and Lion, for which he received a Best Supporting Actor nomination in twenty seventeen. He did all this while harboring another dream to step behind the camera and tell a story his grandfather had been telling him since he was a young boy growing up in Northwest London. That story, about a Hindu god who seeks retribution against corrupt leaders victimizing the poor, has now become Patel's directorial debut, a new movie called Monkey Man. Here's a clip from the trailer.

In this city, the rich don't see us as people give me the job, no one wants to do handle it.

In this city, the rich don't see us as people give me the job, no one wants to do handle it.

Anyone forgets there. Please, it doesn't turn out went for them. This is not the place to work if you can't handle that sort of stuff.

Anyone forgets there. Please, it doesn't turn out went for them. This is not the place to work if you can't handle that sort of stuff.

Every day I've prayed for a way to protect the week.

Every day I've prayed for a way to protect the week.

That was from the new film Monkey Man, now playing in theaters across the country. We talked to Dev a few weeks after the film premiere at south By Southwest, where it won the audience Award, which makes a whole lot of sense, because this is a movie that needs to be seen in a theater. The action is propulsive and visceral and completely insane. Think The Raid, Redemption or John Wick with a Lot Less Cats. There were multiple times when I was watching this movie that I yelled at the screen in absolute disbelief, like I could not believe what I was seeing. I was so enthralled and mortified by the action, some of which I had to watch through the cracks of my fingers because I could not bear what was on screen. It is a one of a kind action movie and exactly the kind of film that you do not want to watch at home by yourself. It's meant to be played in a crowd, with the audience yelling at the screen together. It really is something I can't recommend highly enough, and evidently Jordan Peele and his company Monkey Paul felt the exact same way I did, because without Peel, this movie would have been straight to Netflix or Max or one of those streamers, and you would have just watched it at home. And instead, Monkey Man is exclusively in theaters around the country. If you want to see if it's playing at a theater near you, you can visit our website at talkasypod dot com. You can also click the link that we've put in the description. And so today, in Act one of the show, we talk about the decade long journey that Pateel went on to make Monkey Man possible. That there was ever a film that needed a director's commentary, it's this one. Then in Act two, we get into Patel's personal story, which may help explain why he did everything in his power to get his directorial debut to the finish line. And then finally, in Act three, we talk about what this film means to him now having made it, what he's learned from these last fifteen years in Hollywood, and what he hopes to make in the decade ahead.

That was from the new film Monkey Man, now playing in theaters across the country. We talked to Dev a few weeks after the film premiere at south By Southwest, where it won the audience Award, which makes a whole lot of sense, because this is a movie that needs to be seen in a theater. The action is propulsive and visceral and completely insane. Think The Raid, Redemption or John Wick with a Lot Less Cats. There were multiple times when I was watching this movie that I yelled at the screen in absolute disbelief, like I could not believe what I was seeing. I was so enthralled and mortified by the action, some of which I had to watch through the cracks of my fingers because I could not bear what was on screen. It is a one of a kind action movie and exactly the kind of film that you do not want to watch at home by yourself. It's meant to be played in a crowd, with the audience yelling at the screen together. It really is something I can't recommend highly enough, and evidently Jordan Peele and his company Monkey Paul felt the exact same way I did, because without Peel, this movie would have been straight to Netflix or Max or one of those streamers, and you would have just watched it at home. And instead, Monkey Man is exclusively in theaters around the country. If you want to see if it's playing at a theater near you, you can visit our website at talkasypod dot com. You can also click the link that we've put in the description. And so today, in Act one of the show, we talk about the decade long journey that Pateel went on to make Monkey Man possible. That there was ever a film that needed a director's commentary, it's this one. Then in Act two, we get into Patel's personal story, which may help explain why he did everything in his power to get his directorial debut to the finish line. And then finally, in Act three, we talk about what this film means to him now having made it, what he's learned from these last fifteen years in Hollywood, and what he hopes to make in the decade ahead.

This is dev Patel Death. Paatel, how are you man? Nice to meet you? Likewise, how you doing, I'm good?

This is dev Patel Death. Paatel, how are you man? Nice to meet you? Likewise, how you doing, I'm good?

Anything interesting happening in your life.

Anything interesting happening in your life.

There's so much happening, you know, finally giving birth to this little gremlin that's been occupying most of my life for over ten years. So okay that thing. Do you call it a gremlin? Often?

There's so much happening, you know, finally giving birth to this little gremlin that's been occupying most of my life for over ten years. So okay that thing. Do you call it a gremlin? Often?

I do?

I do?

I do. I've said this before, but it's really been an obsession. I think anyone within a five foot radius of me at some point in recent histories though what I'm insane. But yeah, it's been a long journey. Why don't we just start with your insanity?

I do. I've said this before, but it's really been an obsession. I think anyone within a five foot radius of me at some point in recent histories though what I'm insane. But yeah, it's been a long journey. Why don't we just start with your insanity?

Okay? That is this new film of yours. It's called Monkey Man. It's your directorial debut. You're also the star and the co writer of it, which is based on the story of Hanuman, the Hindu god whose shape is half monkey, half human, who uses his powers in the service of others. Yeah, this is a story your family has long been telling, because your father to this day where's a chain around his neck with little Hanuman statues. But I think it's your grandfather who first shared these epic Hindu stories on his visits from Kenya to Northwest London, where you grew up as a boy. How did your grandfather explain these stories to you?

Okay? That is this new film of yours. It's called Monkey Man. It's your directorial debut. You're also the star and the co writer of it, which is based on the story of Hanuman, the Hindu god whose shape is half monkey, half human, who uses his powers in the service of others. Yeah, this is a story your family has long been telling, because your father to this day where's a chain around his neck with little Hanuman statues. But I think it's your grandfather who first shared these epic Hindu stories on his visits from Kenya to Northwest London, where you grew up as a boy. How did your grandfather explain these stories to you?

I mean it was just I was so desperate to spend time with him. He's such an incredible storyteller. He's so animated. He's got this kind of like half Indian half kind of like Kenyan twang, and he looks like the old man from up the Brown version. You know, he's got this beautiful head of like thick white hair. He yeah, we just spent in my little box room. I'd make him sit in there and he tell me these stories of Hanuman, and for me, it just reminded me of the iconographies of Superman splitting his test open to reveal his s very very similar to a story of Hanneman opening his chest up. Even the kind of way he's depicted flying is very similar to Superman. But as a kid that you know growing up in school, I guess I ran away from my culture or any any sort of association to the Indian part of myself to fit in. And you know, I was afraid I was going to stick out or be bullied or I didn't feel it was the coolest part of my identity. What did you think was the coolest partt I mean, you know, in the UK where I grew up, it's grime music and black culture basically.

I mean it was just I was so desperate to spend time with him. He's such an incredible storyteller. He's so animated. He's got this kind of like half Indian half kind of like Kenyan twang, and he looks like the old man from up the Brown version. You know, he's got this beautiful head of like thick white hair. He yeah, we just spent in my little box room. I'd make him sit in there and he tell me these stories of Hanuman, and for me, it just reminded me of the iconographies of Superman splitting his test open to reveal his s very very similar to a story of Hanneman opening his chest up. Even the kind of way he's depicted flying is very similar to Superman. But as a kid that you know growing up in school, I guess I ran away from my culture or any any sort of association to the Indian part of myself to fit in. And you know, I was afraid I was going to stick out or be bullied or I didn't feel it was the coolest part of my identity. What did you think was the coolest partt I mean, you know, in the UK where I grew up, it's grime music and black culture basically.

So this story didn't fit neatly within that.

So this story didn't fit neatly within that.

Well. This story actually was one of the things that I should say was something that I thought, this is so cool and I'd love to share, but not in the way of this you know, big mythical, kind of camp epic in a way. So that's where this story was born in trying to ground it and give it some weight and bring it into kind of today's world.

Well. This story actually was one of the things that I should say was something that I thought, this is so cool and I'd love to share, but not in the way of this you know, big mythical, kind of camp epic in a way. So that's where this story was born in trying to ground it and give it some weight and bring it into kind of today's world.

So that's kind of the mythological action side of it. But as you start to consider making this film, what did you want to tackle in terms of the cast system and the way there's there's a war on poverty, because that's very much part of the writing of this movie.

So that's kind of the mythological action side of it. But as you start to consider making this film, what did you want to tackle in terms of the cast system and the way there's there's a war on poverty, because that's very much part of the writing of this movie.

I think revenge. You know, this is a revenge film. Revenge is an incredibly maximal feeling and I believe it needs as maximal a catalyst. And as a huge fan of the genre, I it frustrates me when I see these kind of like run of the mill, you know, streaming kind of action films that come and go in a second. But for me, it is how can I double down, triple down on the culture and inject it into the genre and use it as a sort of trojan horse to capture those guys that watch the John Wick movies to Middle of America, the guys that play video games and talk about things. And you know the action structure all the way back from Bruce Lee in Game of Death he fights his way up a pagoda. There's a cast system to action till you reach the biggest, hardest boss. In that case, it was Kareem Abdul Jabbar. So for me, I was like, wow, we can talk about the car system. If this guy infiltrates this club we call King's Club, whether the untouchable elite, the kings of society go, and he's slaving away in this kind of windowless hell hole in the bottom, he can work his way up to challenge the gods of society and we can talk about something richer within that kind of scaffolding, which is action.

I think revenge. You know, this is a revenge film. Revenge is an incredibly maximal feeling and I believe it needs as maximal a catalyst. And as a huge fan of the genre, I it frustrates me when I see these kind of like run of the mill, you know, streaming kind of action films that come and go in a second. But for me, it is how can I double down, triple down on the culture and inject it into the genre and use it as a sort of trojan horse to capture those guys that watch the John Wick movies to Middle of America, the guys that play video games and talk about things. And you know the action structure all the way back from Bruce Lee in Game of Death he fights his way up a pagoda. There's a cast system to action till you reach the biggest, hardest boss. In that case, it was Kareem Abdul Jabbar. So for me, I was like, wow, we can talk about the car system. If this guy infiltrates this club we call King's Club, whether the untouchable elite, the kings of society go, and he's slaving away in this kind of windowless hell hole in the bottom, he can work his way up to challenge the gods of society and we can talk about something richer within that kind of scaffolding, which is action.

So you bring all of this personal and political connection to the film and it takes about a decade. As my understanding, you first were talked into writing it, yeah, which you didn't want to do. Then you tried to enlist Neil Blancamp who made District nine, Yeah, and he said I think you should direct it, and come March of twenty nineteen, you told the New York Times quote, I have a film called monkey Man that I'm going to direct this year. Hopefully. It's like a graphic novel coming to life, and it's really exciting. It's also a heart attack in the wings.

So you bring all of this personal and political connection to the film and it takes about a decade. As my understanding, you first were talked into writing it, yeah, which you didn't want to do. Then you tried to enlist Neil Blancamp who made District nine, Yeah, and he said I think you should direct it, and come March of twenty nineteen, you told the New York Times quote, I have a film called monkey Man that I'm going to direct this year. Hopefully. It's like a graphic novel coming to life, and it's really exciting. It's also a heart attack in the wings.

Was Oh boy?

Was Oh boy?

Was March twenty nineteen Dev right about March twenty twenty dev?

Was March twenty nineteen Dev right about March twenty twenty dev?

Oh boy? Was he right? And then some I think he underestimated future Dev. What was really interesting about the Hannemand mythology was he's this incredible superhero. Right. So if you go to India and you go to any gym and a slum there, you'll see Arnold Schwarzenegger on the walls. You'll see this British bodybuilder Ronnie Coleman, and you'll see Hanaumann. And he's in every rich Shaw swinging underneath the mirror. And for me, when you start reading about the mythologies, he got punished for basically touching the sun. It's a story very akin to Icarus. And for me, he was someone that lost faith in himself and his abilities, and it's kind of life imitating art. I thought of this film. I knew everything about it, but I didn't have faith in myself so there's no way I'm going to be to put a finger on a laptop and write something, so I should get someone else, let alone direct. And it was Neil That's like, dude, this is in you. It's in every cell of your body or you know, every corner, every frame of what you want to do. So yeah, I kind of took his faith and I kind of ran with it.

Oh boy? Was he right? And then some I think he underestimated future Dev. What was really interesting about the Hannemand mythology was he's this incredible superhero. Right. So if you go to India and you go to any gym and a slum there, you'll see Arnold Schwarzenegger on the walls. You'll see this British bodybuilder Ronnie Coleman, and you'll see Hanaumann. And he's in every rich Shaw swinging underneath the mirror. And for me, when you start reading about the mythologies, he got punished for basically touching the sun. It's a story very akin to Icarus. And for me, he was someone that lost faith in himself and his abilities, and it's kind of life imitating art. I thought of this film. I knew everything about it, but I didn't have faith in myself so there's no way I'm going to be to put a finger on a laptop and write something, so I should get someone else, let alone direct. And it was Neil That's like, dude, this is in you. It's in every cell of your body or you know, every corner, every frame of what you want to do. So yeah, I kind of took his faith and I kind of ran with it.

So when the pandemic starts, yeah, you get the last seat out of Mumbai to go back where.

So when the pandemic starts, yeah, you get the last seat out of Mumbai to go back where.

We're in one of the biggest slums in Mumbai. I'm with my Korean DP. I've been there for months and months scouting, scouting, casting r you know, there was a hairy situation with the financiers where you know, money wasn't being released, so it was all of this stuff happening, and I'm turning down projects and my agents are like just come back, you know, don't worry about it, and I'm like, no, no, We're going to do this. And then we get whacked with this pandemic. And you know, all the kids in the slums have mobile phones, so they're seeing us foreigners and they start they're pointing out us, going COVID, GOVID and it turned into Mumbai was like twenty eight days later, like everyone had left me and kind of the key players had underestimated what this actually was, so we're like, how this will blow over? And I was in this hotel and by the end of it there was only me and I think like seven other guests. They'd switched draft all the lights in the hotel and traffic had stopped, so the air had cleared up. You could finally see the clear skies in Mumbai. I could see the kind of city scape from my window. But the Dreamer died. We had to get out, and the film had basically tanked.

We're in one of the biggest slums in Mumbai. I'm with my Korean DP. I've been there for months and months scouting, scouting, casting r you know, there was a hairy situation with the financiers where you know, money wasn't being released, so it was all of this stuff happening, and I'm turning down projects and my agents are like just come back, you know, don't worry about it, and I'm like, no, no, We're going to do this. And then we get whacked with this pandemic. And you know, all the kids in the slums have mobile phones, so they're seeing us foreigners and they start they're pointing out us, going COVID, GOVID and it turned into Mumbai was like twenty eight days later, like everyone had left me and kind of the key players had underestimated what this actually was, so we're like, how this will blow over? And I was in this hotel and by the end of it there was only me and I think like seven other guests. They'd switched draft all the lights in the hotel and traffic had stopped, so the air had cleared up. You could finally see the clear skies in Mumbai. I could see the kind of city scape from my window. But the Dreamer died. We had to get out, and the film had basically tanked.

The financiers call you, they say, dev it's a pandemic. We're not making a movie. It's time to pack it in, come home. What does your hail Mary's speech sound like to them? How do you convince them to keep going?

The financiers call you, they say, dev it's a pandemic. We're not making a movie. It's time to pack it in, come home. What does your hail Mary's speech sound like to them? How do you convince them to keep going?

That speech hadn't happened yet. There's many kind of brave heart speech moments. But you know, we'd spent so much time writing this. I'd turned down so much work. I was like, there's no way this is going to go down. And I had a feeling that it wasn't going to come up again if we if we just let it sit there and gathered us right. So my producing partner Joe I was like, do we got to be resourceful. We got to find something outside of the box. And he knew someone that he'd met at a festival in Singapore who owns a studio in Indonesia and this tiny island called Badam, and you know, We're like, okay, how can we get there. We can create a bubble. He also owns this kind of golf course in a hotel, so we can create a bubble there and we can put all the crew there and we can do this. So we blagged to our financiers and they created this, you know, one hundred page document of COVID protocols and they're like, have you been to Indonesia and been to this place and scouted? I'm like, I've been there. I love it. It's incredible, complete lie complete lie will Yeah. Probably. But when we landed, I remember looking at the sunlight and I turned to Joe and go, God that the sunlight, the texture of the light is so different to India. I was like, dude, this is here we go And it was you know, whoever we could get our hands on locally. We just went at it ferociously. Take me to the brave Heart moment and that speech. Yes, So the brave Heart moment was it probably would have been a few weeks before principal photography when we were actually going to start shooting.

That speech hadn't happened yet. There's many kind of brave heart speech moments. But you know, we'd spent so much time writing this. I'd turned down so much work. I was like, there's no way this is going to go down. And I had a feeling that it wasn't going to come up again if we if we just let it sit there and gathered us right. So my producing partner Joe I was like, do we got to be resourceful. We got to find something outside of the box. And he knew someone that he'd met at a festival in Singapore who owns a studio in Indonesia and this tiny island called Badam, and you know, We're like, okay, how can we get there. We can create a bubble. He also owns this kind of golf course in a hotel, so we can create a bubble there and we can put all the crew there and we can do this. So we blagged to our financiers and they created this, you know, one hundred page document of COVID protocols and they're like, have you been to Indonesia and been to this place and scouted? I'm like, I've been there. I love it. It's incredible, complete lie complete lie will Yeah. Probably. But when we landed, I remember looking at the sunlight and I turned to Joe and go, God that the sunlight, the texture of the light is so different to India. I was like, dude, this is here we go And it was you know, whoever we could get our hands on locally. We just went at it ferociously. Take me to the brave Heart moment and that speech. Yes, So the brave Heart moment was it probably would have been a few weeks before principal photography when we were actually going to start shooting.

You're in Indonesia.

You're in Indonesia.

We're in Indonesia. Everything's going wrong. Literally, I think at one point we were running out of toilet paper. You know, they had the hotel catering, and you know, for a film crew, you can't have kind of room service like you know, coming two hours late to half an hour late. You know, you've got an entire crew that marches on their stomach. So I mean these locations that I was scouting for months to do these complex action sequences would turn up to shoot and the military with it, and they had been turned into red zones. The borders were closing. I broke my foot. One of the stunt men stamped on and broke a couple of toes. And they hadn't really accounted for the COVID protocols of actually having to pay to quarantine someone for two weeks before they could even do a day of shoot. So the final ancier calls me and He's like, look, I've never done this, but I'm shutting you down and you've got to come home. And I at least say it just like that. Yeah, he said, I'm shutting you down and I was like, uh no, you're not. And he goes, what do you mean. I said, you can't do this. We have four hundred and fifty beating hearts on this island that have a purpose and this is going to be genre bending. You have to trust me that through this chaos, through this fire, we will forge a diamond. And I said, I'm not going to leave. I said, you're going to have to get someone to cuff my hands and drag me out of here. But did you get emotional on the speech? I was, I was really because I knew it was. It was slipping away and I won't mention any names, but they'd sent someone from the studio, this said individual you know, was intimidated by the you know, seeing a rat and a Islam or whatever. And I was like, how are we going to make this grimy, gritty vision of this underworld India? If you know, you can't show up to a location scout and you're moaning about craft services like you know, we've got to we've got to get as a New York goft. Yeah, but he goes, Okay, you know what, I'm going to give you forty eight hours. So Joe and I we went on a zoom call because at that time there was a COVID scare on the island too, so we couldn't mix with anyone. So we went on a seventeen hour zoom call. And it was with every hod I went on and D is a department Yeah sorry, yeah, and you know, even down to the makeup department. I sad, Okay, how many makeup brushes do you have? Thirty? Okay? Make it ten? Props? How many bicycles do we have? Twelve? Okay, we need three. I made some mistakes, you know, in terms of the breakaway tables that you know you throw the stuntman on. I think we only had three or four in the end. So we did these huge action sequences. Throw a bad guy onto a table and then you know, look as bad ass as I can, and then I'll shout cut and then we'd have to clue the balsa would back together again.

We're in Indonesia. Everything's going wrong. Literally, I think at one point we were running out of toilet paper. You know, they had the hotel catering, and you know, for a film crew, you can't have kind of room service like you know, coming two hours late to half an hour late. You know, you've got an entire crew that marches on their stomach. So I mean these locations that I was scouting for months to do these complex action sequences would turn up to shoot and the military with it, and they had been turned into red zones. The borders were closing. I broke my foot. One of the stunt men stamped on and broke a couple of toes. And they hadn't really accounted for the COVID protocols of actually having to pay to quarantine someone for two weeks before they could even do a day of shoot. So the final ancier calls me and He's like, look, I've never done this, but I'm shutting you down and you've got to come home. And I at least say it just like that. Yeah, he said, I'm shutting you down and I was like, uh no, you're not. And he goes, what do you mean. I said, you can't do this. We have four hundred and fifty beating hearts on this island that have a purpose and this is going to be genre bending. You have to trust me that through this chaos, through this fire, we will forge a diamond. And I said, I'm not going to leave. I said, you're going to have to get someone to cuff my hands and drag me out of here. But did you get emotional on the speech? I was, I was really because I knew it was. It was slipping away and I won't mention any names, but they'd sent someone from the studio, this said individual you know, was intimidated by the you know, seeing a rat and a Islam or whatever. And I was like, how are we going to make this grimy, gritty vision of this underworld India? If you know, you can't show up to a location scout and you're moaning about craft services like you know, we've got to we've got to get as a New York goft. Yeah, but he goes, Okay, you know what, I'm going to give you forty eight hours. So Joe and I we went on a zoom call because at that time there was a COVID scare on the island too, so we couldn't mix with anyone. So we went on a seventeen hour zoom call. And it was with every hod I went on and D is a department Yeah sorry, yeah, and you know, even down to the makeup department. I sad, Okay, how many makeup brushes do you have? Thirty? Okay? Make it ten? Props? How many bicycles do we have? Twelve? Okay, we need three. I made some mistakes, you know, in terms of the breakaway tables that you know you throw the stuntman on. I think we only had three or four in the end. So we did these huge action sequences. Throw a bad guy onto a table and then you know, look as bad ass as I can, and then I'll shout cut and then we'd have to clue the balsa would back together again.

You're on our sixteen of that call.

You're on our sixteen of that call.

Morale is what you know what I was very emotional on the call, and I said, look, it's up to each and every one of you to make some concessions. And you know, every head of department they feel like they're part of production is the most important part, which is incredible, you know, So it has to be like that. But I said, for the greater good of the picture, we need to find a way to be more resourceful. And the term I'd picked up when I was scouting in India was this word in the slums they used called jiguard, which is it kind of means resourcefulness, this kind of like clucky attitude, by any means necessary, you can be adaptive and resourceful. And I always use example of this guy I saw with this plastic bag that he twisted the four corners to make a hat. And you know, you can poke holes in it and make it a fishing net or cover the roof of your leaking tin roof. And that was the thing we went through and everyone responded. Everyone cut down. Some people cut salaries, even Mike Willowan, who's the man that owns a studio. I think he slashed the rate of the studio by over half to let us keep filming there. So I feel hugely grateful to my Indonesian crew.

Morale is what you know what I was very emotional on the call, and I said, look, it's up to each and every one of you to make some concessions. And you know, every head of department they feel like they're part of production is the most important part, which is incredible, you know, So it has to be like that. But I said, for the greater good of the picture, we need to find a way to be more resourceful. And the term I'd picked up when I was scouting in India was this word in the slums they used called jiguard, which is it kind of means resourcefulness, this kind of like clucky attitude, by any means necessary, you can be adaptive and resourceful. And I always use example of this guy I saw with this plastic bag that he twisted the four corners to make a hat. And you know, you can poke holes in it and make it a fishing net or cover the roof of your leaking tin roof. And that was the thing we went through and everyone responded. Everyone cut down. Some people cut salaries, even Mike Willowan, who's the man that owns a studio. I think he slashed the rate of the studio by over half to let us keep filming there. So I feel hugely grateful to my Indonesian crew.

So your in production, you start filming, pretend I'm a medical examiner or like a concerned mother. You broke your hand on this film. You broke your toes on this film. Yeah, you tore a shoulder on this film. Not quite, Jackie Chan, I mean, and you kept making this film.

So your in production, you start filming, pretend I'm a medical examiner or like a concerned mother. You broke your hand on this film. You broke your toes on this film. Yeah, you tore a shoulder on this film. Not quite, Jackie Chan, I mean, and you kept making this film.

Yeah?

Yeah?

What pain medication were you prescribed? And did you bring any for me today?

What pain medication were you prescribed? And did you bring any for me today?

Actually? I refuse to take painkillers stop, not even an anvil. No, no, no, because I had to be so hyper present the amount of adrenaline coursing through my veins for nine months.

Actually? I refuse to take painkillers stop, not even an anvil. No, no, no, because I had to be so hyper present the amount of adrenaline coursing through my veins for nine months.

See, I'm imagining them giving you whatever they give Lebron in Game six of the NBA fight.

See, I'm imagining them giving you whatever they give Lebron in Game six of the NBA fight.

No, no, no, it was. It was coconut water, sweet potato, salmon and lettuce. That was it. Okay. I was a man possessed, I really was.

No, no, no, it was. It was coconut water, sweet potato, salmon and lettuce. That was it. Okay. I was a man possessed, I really was.

And that was enough to make it through production even with all these injuries.

And that was enough to make it through production even with all these injuries.

Oh man, I mean when my hands snapped in the phone fight scene in this bathroom, I turned to Joe again in my DP and I go, I know it's broken. I heard it. I felt it. Every time I move, like there's this nerve sensation flicking in my ear, and I was like, let's just finish it, Let's just keep going. And we knew if we had to put a cast on my hand, that's it. We couldn't afford to v effects out this thing, and again the production was going to tank. So our assistant had found this cheap medical private jet to fly me to Jakarta. And you know, we needed to prove to insurance that we weren't going to break this COVID bubble. So we went on this jet. I went under. They put a screw in the Doctor's like, if you put more than a pound or two of pressure on this hand and you bend that tiny nail, it's going to be like pulling a nail out of wood. You will ruin the bone around it and you won't be.

Oh man, I mean when my hands snapped in the phone fight scene in this bathroom, I turned to Joe again in my DP and I go, I know it's broken. I heard it. I felt it. Every time I move, like there's this nerve sensation flicking in my ear, and I was like, let's just finish it, Let's just keep going. And we knew if we had to put a cast on my hand, that's it. We couldn't afford to v effects out this thing, and again the production was going to tank. So our assistant had found this cheap medical private jet to fly me to Jakarta. And you know, we needed to prove to insurance that we weren't going to break this COVID bubble. So we went on this jet. I went under. They put a screw in the Doctor's like, if you put more than a pound or two of pressure on this hand and you bend that tiny nail, it's going to be like pulling a nail out of wood. You will ruin the bone around it and you won't be.

How do you not use your hand in an action film?

How do you not use your hand in an action film?

Oh, we went straight back into the action. I started throwing myself out a window and bouncing off it straight after. And you see it in the film.

Oh, we went straight back into the action. I started throwing myself out a window and bouncing off it straight after. And you see it in the film.

Yeah, I saw it. I see it in the Yeah, it's in the film.

Yeah, I saw it. I see it in the Yeah, it's in the film.

You know. The biggest heartbreaking thing is I so much better in the carrier when I had two hands. So what you see is me doing some of this stuff one handed, which slows you down the kind of like you know, nature of it. But I think you did a good job. Yeah.

You know. The biggest heartbreaking thing is I so much better in the carrier when I had two hands. So what you see is me doing some of this stuff one handed, which slows you down the kind of like you know, nature of it. But I think you did a good job. Yeah.

People love asking actors about their creative process, how they prepare for the role, how they become the character that they're playing. But you've always said that your acting process is quote ninety percent panic and ten percent it just happens.

People love asking actors about their creative process, how they prepare for the role, how they become the character that they're playing. But you've always said that your acting process is quote ninety percent panic and ten percent it just happens.

Yeah. Yeah, I need that on a T shirt. Yeah, well, we'll make them for you.

Yeah. Yeah, I need that on a T shirt. Yeah, well, we'll make them for you.

It sounds like my sex life. No it doesn't, noted, glad we have it on record. When it comes to directing, what are those percentages looking like? Is it ninety percent panic and ten percent of just happens or is it something else?

It sounds like my sex life. No it doesn't, noted, glad we have it on record. When it comes to directing, what are those percentages looking like? Is it ninety percent panic and ten percent of just happens or is it something else?

It was different this time, the amount of material that I've been accumulating and gathering. You know, every film I would watch, you know, I'm sitting with my friends, I'll drive them crazy. I'm like, oh we got we gotta rewind that. I got a film. That moment. I love the way the camera moves. Look at the lighting in that Oh wow. So watching a film with me for about the two years leading up to shoot was impossible. It was the most you know, drive people crazy. I prepped the shit out of this thing, every angle, every thought, and then you know, because of what was going on, we had to adapt. So it was having this plan and then being willing to just pivot. I'm not a very technical actor. I think I'm instinctual, and for me, that instinct really played a big key in making this.

It was different this time, the amount of material that I've been accumulating and gathering. You know, every film I would watch, you know, I'm sitting with my friends, I'll drive them crazy. I'm like, oh we got we gotta rewind that. I got a film. That moment. I love the way the camera moves. Look at the lighting in that Oh wow. So watching a film with me for about the two years leading up to shoot was impossible. It was the most you know, drive people crazy. I prepped the shit out of this thing, every angle, every thought, and then you know, because of what was going on, we had to adapt. So it was having this plan and then being willing to just pivot. I'm not a very technical actor. I think I'm instinctual, and for me, that instinct really played a big key in making this.

The instinctual part of your craft. I think we can chronicle that back to the beginning of your career, because in two thousand and six, you're sixteen years old. I think one day, on our way back home from work, your mother's sitting on a train just flipping to the local Metro newspaper and it's then that she stumbles upon the casting call for teenagers in London. Now again, you're sixteen, Like most teenagers don't love listening to their parents, and yet she talks you into auditioning. How did you do that?

The instinctual part of your craft. I think we can chronicle that back to the beginning of your career, because in two thousand and six, you're sixteen years old. I think one day, on our way back home from work, your mother's sitting on a train just flipping to the local Metro newspaper and it's then that she stumbles upon the casting call for teenagers in London. Now again, you're sixteen, Like most teenagers don't love listening to their parents, and yet she talks you into auditioning. How did you do that?

I mean, you know, I was just such a stubborn, little rascal of a teenager. I had terrible acne. You know, we were struggling at the time, and I just was like, you know, I really thought my parents were spiraling or something, struggling out just financially. You know, things weren't going well, and it was tough, and I was just like, this is insane. You know, I've never done any sort of professional acting or been to an acting school, and they're not going to cast any brown kids for sure. And we fought and we fought, and she's like, I'm not going to listen to you. We are going to bunk off school and we are going and she goes, you're going to wear your uniform so your dad doesn't know, and then we're going to take the train to the National Youth Theater and we queued up. I got a number. It was like American Idol. I went in and totally was the most over the top terrible audition I'd done. But I made them laugh and that was the beginning of everything. And we talk about it and I was like, you know, you were so close to cracking and how drastically different my reality would have been. And she was close to cracking. Yeah, she was. She was close to listening to listening. I nearly you know, I nearly won, and trying to I was painting. You know how ridiculous this was to bunk and examine and go to the city and do this. You know, this newspaper, the metro newspapers on every seat on the train. It's so it's craziness. You get the part.

I mean, you know, I was just such a stubborn, little rascal of a teenager. I had terrible acne. You know, we were struggling at the time, and I just was like, you know, I really thought my parents were spiraling or something, struggling out just financially. You know, things weren't going well, and it was tough, and I was just like, this is insane. You know, I've never done any sort of professional acting or been to an acting school, and they're not going to cast any brown kids for sure. And we fought and we fought, and she's like, I'm not going to listen to you. We are going to bunk off school and we are going and she goes, you're going to wear your uniform so your dad doesn't know, and then we're going to take the train to the National Youth Theater and we queued up. I got a number. It was like American Idol. I went in and totally was the most over the top terrible audition I'd done. But I made them laugh and that was the beginning of everything. And we talk about it and I was like, you know, you were so close to cracking and how drastically different my reality would have been. And she was close to cracking. Yeah, she was. She was close to listening to listening. I nearly you know, I nearly won, and trying to I was painting. You know how ridiculous this was to bunk and examine and go to the city and do this. You know, this newspaper, the metro newspapers on every seat on the train. It's so it's craziness. You get the part.

It's on a show called Skins yep, where you play this wily sex craze British Pakistani teenager.

It's on a show called Skins yep, where you play this wily sex craze British Pakistani teenager.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Can we take a look at that? Oh boy for a second. Okay, all right, hope.

Can we take a look at that? Oh boy for a second. Okay, all right, hope.

No one has said eating breakfast at the same time as watching this.

No one has said eating breakfast at the same time as watching this.

Yeah, this is a warning and a disclaimer.

Yeah, this is a warning and a disclaimer.

But you had the drug std I don't have any. I thought you were beginner. No, you're going to put them in your turban. I don't wear a turbine. Chris thought you're going to get on a specially they look so disappointing when I'm not a terrorist. Well you're a very dull Muslim. Ah. Ow got it out, Chris. It was strict poker foxes want me to do?

But you had the drug std I don't have any. I thought you were beginner. No, you're going to put them in your turban. I don't wear a turbine. Chris thought you're going to get on a specially they look so disappointing when I'm not a terrorist. Well you're a very dull Muslim. Ah. Ow got it out, Chris. It was strict poker foxes want me to do?

You weren't even playing u wang.

You weren't even playing u wang.

Look it's posh kids. All the boys are gay. Yeah, how the girl's gay too? Oh boy, that's enough pain. That's enough pain. Oh boy? Wow? What do you think watching that? God? I was an awkward, awkward creature, wasn't I so hyperactive? And no, there's not a single bone of subtlety in that performance. You know, if you watch, I'm actually sometimes mouthing the other characters lines. Everyone. The ongoing joke was dev would wake up four hours before and I used to make up. I had some elaborate bathroom routine, but I was just so nervous and reading the lines over and over and over again. My first adr, like the additional sound recording. My mum came with me to that recording, and none of us knew what to expect because I've never done it before. And the first thing up was this sex scene.

Look it's posh kids. All the boys are gay. Yeah, how the girl's gay too? Oh boy, that's enough pain. That's enough pain. Oh boy? Wow? What do you think watching that? God? I was an awkward, awkward creature, wasn't I so hyperactive? And no, there's not a single bone of subtlety in that performance. You know, if you watch, I'm actually sometimes mouthing the other characters lines. Everyone. The ongoing joke was dev would wake up four hours before and I used to make up. I had some elaborate bathroom routine, but I was just so nervous and reading the lines over and over and over again. My first adr, like the additional sound recording. My mum came with me to that recording, and none of us knew what to expect because I've never done it before. And the first thing up was this sex scene.

But you were a virgin.

But you were a virgin.

I was a virgin, and we had one computer in the house which my dad would do his accounting work on, so I couldn't, you know, do a lot of background research. So we had some James Bond tapes. So I watched some James Bond you know romance scenes, pull out some ice cubes and do all that kind of you know romance shit like every yeah, and then I'm on set and the directors like morchuawa, moruaha, and I think I was doing a scene where I was like humping away trying to recite Hugh Grant films to last, and my mom's in the watching me through the glass, and she turned to the men afterwards and she goes, he sounds just like his father. I was like the most, the most. Yeah, and we're trying to sell an action film here. I feel like this is not the right thing to be talking about it. But it happened. It happened.

I was a virgin, and we had one computer in the house which my dad would do his accounting work on, so I couldn't, you know, do a lot of background research. So we had some James Bond tapes. So I watched some James Bond you know romance scenes, pull out some ice cubes and do all that kind of you know romance shit like every yeah, and then I'm on set and the directors like morchuawa, moruaha, and I think I was doing a scene where I was like humping away trying to recite Hugh Grant films to last, and my mom's in the watching me through the glass, and she turned to the men afterwards and she goes, he sounds just like his father. I was like the most, the most. Yeah, and we're trying to sell an action film here. I feel like this is not the right thing to be talking about it. But it happened. It happened.

Well, no, I you know, I think it is because you explained how you made the song of your Yeah. But I think to fully understand the why, we have to know your story a bit, we don't have to keep talking about you having fixed sex. But you said want some to do the show. It felt like suicide in the community to put your kid into a TV show and let him drop out at sixteen. That first line is severe. I mean, what did that feel like?

Well, no, I you know, I think it is because you explained how you made the song of your Yeah. But I think to fully understand the why, we have to know your story a bit, we don't have to keep talking about you having fixed sex. But you said want some to do the show. It felt like suicide in the community to put your kid into a TV show and let him drop out at sixteen. That first line is severe. I mean, what did that feel like?

It was tough. I mean we had these, like you know, local community events for the kind of local Indian community, and we would show up and I remember when they when I told my mom I wanted to leave school because I didn't fit. It was it was very tough for me. Everyone was giving my mother dirty looks and taking her aside and like, how could you do this to your son? And you know, everyone's trying to backseat parent someone else's child in the community. Everyone has something to say.

It was tough. I mean we had these, like you know, local community events for the kind of local Indian community, and we would show up and I remember when they when I told my mom I wanted to leave school because I didn't fit. It was it was very tough for me. Everyone was giving my mother dirty looks and taking her aside and like, how could you do this to your son? And you know, everyone's trying to backseat parent someone else's child in the community. Everyone has something to say.

How did she handle that?

How did she handle that?

It was very tough. She's a care for the elderly, and we weren't doing well financially, so we kind of became that kind of family for a moment where they're like, I'll look at those guys. You know, it's a bit of a train wreck going on there. And at the same time, I'd go to school and it was quite a more cultural school, and you know, you're naked on national television with your scrawny ass out and we didn't have kind of media training or protection. I was going to a school in the outskirts of London, and so I was getting a bit of flack for the being the butt of the jokes on the show. And there was all these chat rooms of like, you know, who's kiss Mary kill? You know, all that kind of stuff, and I was always the one you would kill the worst in the show. And there were some members of my school that were not happy with the kind of Muslim representation of this guy being quite wild, and there were some that were. So it kind of was quite divisive in that sense. So it was a prickly place to be for a while how did you handle that? It was hard because I didn't even know what a boom mic was, you know, or what speed meant or rolling. The only word I'd been accustomed to watching movies was action. Literally, we went straight from being at home and being in school to on a film set and them calling action. It was as raw as you can get. And you know, for me, going to central London was a big deal. So to leave and stay in Bristol in this hotel with all these other teenagers that were more experienced at life than me, and you know, everyone's kind of drinking and a lot of shit was going down that I hadn't been exposed to, and I didn't quite know how to handle myself in that, and I was more caught up trying to be the funny guy to fit in then really focus on what was happening on set. So I remember looking back on that and it was only when I met Danny Boyle and actually there was actually a filmmaker on that, Adam Smith. I had one episode and he really saw me and spoke to me like an equal, not like a kid, and that really started to change. I started to get the idea of what acting.

It was very tough. She's a care for the elderly, and we weren't doing well financially, so we kind of became that kind of family for a moment where they're like, I'll look at those guys. You know, it's a bit of a train wreck going on there. And at the same time, I'd go to school and it was quite a more cultural school, and you know, you're naked on national television with your scrawny ass out and we didn't have kind of media training or protection. I was going to a school in the outskirts of London, and so I was getting a bit of flack for the being the butt of the jokes on the show. And there was all these chat rooms of like, you know, who's kiss Mary kill? You know, all that kind of stuff, and I was always the one you would kill the worst in the show. And there were some members of my school that were not happy with the kind of Muslim representation of this guy being quite wild, and there were some that were. So it kind of was quite divisive in that sense. So it was a prickly place to be for a while how did you handle that? It was hard because I didn't even know what a boom mic was, you know, or what speed meant or rolling. The only word I'd been accustomed to watching movies was action. Literally, we went straight from being at home and being in school to on a film set and them calling action. It was as raw as you can get. And you know, for me, going to central London was a big deal. So to leave and stay in Bristol in this hotel with all these other teenagers that were more experienced at life than me, and you know, everyone's kind of drinking and a lot of shit was going down that I hadn't been exposed to, and I didn't quite know how to handle myself in that, and I was more caught up trying to be the funny guy to fit in then really focus on what was happening on set. So I remember looking back on that and it was only when I met Danny Boyle and actually there was actually a filmmaker on that, Adam Smith. I had one episode and he really saw me and spoke to me like an equal, not like a kid, and that really started to change. I started to get the idea of what acting.

Was even if those kids in the chatroom didn't like your performance. There was one person that did, in Danny Boyle's daughter. Yeah, and she was the one that told him while he was casting a slum Dung millionaire to look at this young kid named Dev Patel when you met him for the first time. What did you think?

Was even if those kids in the chatroom didn't like your performance. There was one person that did, in Danny Boyle's daughter. Yeah, and she was the one that told him while he was casting a slum Dung millionaire to look at this young kid named Dev Patel when you met him for the first time. What did you think?

I mean? It was we turned up to the audition again. I was with my mom and there was I was the I think I was the youngest to turn up and there was all these men with like beautiful designer stubble, and I was like, I'm not going to get this. And at that time the film was aged up. There wasn't the youngest kids, and that basically stealed the movie in slum Dog. So I went in and was doing the youngest part of the roles, you know, doing the pickpocketing scenes, and I knew I could be funny, so I had Danny in stitches. So I just went in there and I was like, let's go for it. I'm not going to be the handsome dude like these guys, but I'm going to go in there and make him laugh. And I did, and then he took me aside and he goes you know, to lead a movie, you have to be still, he goes. You know, to support a movie, you can come in and display attributes and add different elements to the equation. But to be a leading man, the audience needs to enter you through your eyes.

I mean? It was we turned up to the audition again. I was with my mom and there was I was the I think I was the youngest to turn up and there was all these men with like beautiful designer stubble, and I was like, I'm not going to get this. And at that time the film was aged up. There wasn't the youngest kids, and that basically stealed the movie in slum Dog. So I went in and was doing the youngest part of the roles, you know, doing the pickpocketing scenes, and I knew I could be funny, so I had Danny in stitches. So I just went in there and I was like, let's go for it. I'm not going to be the handsome dude like these guys, but I'm going to go in there and make him laugh. And I did, and then he took me aside and he goes you know, to lead a movie, you have to be still, he goes. You know, to support a movie, you can come in and display attributes and add different elements to the equation. But to be a leading man, the audience needs to enter you through your eyes.

Did you understand that?

Did you understand that?

At the beginning, I was like, what do you mean? That's not acting like they need to see me do something. It took me a while to really grasp that. It was only when I was opposite an actor called the Irfan Khan, who you know sadly passed away, who's a true best Yeah, cinematic icon and Irfan we did a scene where he figures out why I'm on the show. I'm chained to this chair in this police interrogation room, and one of the other officers played by this actress sup Chuckla he kind of passes a leude remark about this girl, you know, calls something the bitch of the slum, and then I'm gonna go crazy and every fan's gonna grab me and go That's that's it. We find out why he's on it. Instead, as I'm wiling out, I'm expecting him to come and kind of like restrain me. Instead he just gets up and leaves the set. There was a little sink on the side of the room and he washes his face in the middle of the shot and comes and sits down with a towel. He pats his face down and then he goes, so that's why you're here. And I just was like, what the hell did he just do? And then Danny brought me behind the camera to watch him, and he has the most solf eyes and yeah, really recalibrate to me at that moment.

At the beginning, I was like, what do you mean? That's not acting like they need to see me do something. It took me a while to really grasp that. It was only when I was opposite an actor called the Irfan Khan, who you know sadly passed away, who's a true best Yeah, cinematic icon and Irfan we did a scene where he figures out why I'm on the show. I'm chained to this chair in this police interrogation room, and one of the other officers played by this actress sup Chuckla he kind of passes a leude remark about this girl, you know, calls something the bitch of the slum, and then I'm gonna go crazy and every fan's gonna grab me and go That's that's it. We find out why he's on it. Instead, as I'm wiling out, I'm expecting him to come and kind of like restrain me. Instead he just gets up and leaves the set. There was a little sink on the side of the room and he washes his face in the middle of the shot and comes and sits down with a towel. He pats his face down and then he goes, so that's why you're here. And I just was like, what the hell did he just do? And then Danny brought me behind the camera to watch him, and he has the most solf eyes and yeah, really recalibrate to me at that moment.

In making this film, it was kind of your first or second time being in India? Is that right?

In making this film, it was kind of your first or second time being in India? Is that right?

Some dog some dog? Yeah, I would say it was my first time consciously content child. I went as a kid to a rural part for a wedding.

Some dog some dog? Yeah, I would say it was my first time consciously content child. I went as a kid to a rural part for a wedding.

As a seventeen year old making this movie with like his headphones and his Nike shoes. Yeah, not knowing what the hell you're seeing? How did you make sense of the community that you were part of and that you were now about to make work about.

As a seventeen year old making this movie with like his headphones and his Nike shoes. Yeah, not knowing what the hell you're seeing? How did you make sense of the community that you were part of and that you were now about to make work about.

It was every kind of preconceived conception I had of the culture, you know, growing up in Rainer's Lane and trying to rid myself of that part of my identity to fit in and not be bullied in whatever they're not cool part, they're not cool part. Yeah, you know. I went there and the first thing I did was, you know, do a bunch of casting with I don't know, I must have been thirty of the most beautiful, captivating and interesting women I've ever seen or been exposed to in my you know existence at that point. And one after the other, this girl would come in and would do this scene together, torn jeans and girls with led Zeppelin T shirts on. And I didn't even know what that band was, you know. I was only listening to like Dizzy Rascal and like UK grime, and it really really recalibrated me in a huge way. I made some of my closest friends that I still have today on that experience, and I fell in love with it. It was intoxicating because it was so surprising in every way, and you can just get lost there. Did you feel enveloped in that community? So when I went out there, they found Freeda and then they went down for two weeks for Christmas before we started filming, and I just stayed back. I was actually hoping to just try and hang out with her because I had a huge crush on her, but she went off and wasn't around.

It was every kind of preconceived conception I had of the culture, you know, growing up in Rainer's Lane and trying to rid myself of that part of my identity to fit in and not be bullied in whatever they're not cool part, they're not cool part. Yeah, you know. I went there and the first thing I did was, you know, do a bunch of casting with I don't know, I must have been thirty of the most beautiful, captivating and interesting women I've ever seen or been exposed to in my you know existence at that point. And one after the other, this girl would come in and would do this scene together, torn jeans and girls with led Zeppelin T shirts on. And I didn't even know what that band was, you know. I was only listening to like Dizzy Rascal and like UK grime, and it really really recalibrated me in a huge way. I made some of my closest friends that I still have today on that experience, and I fell in love with it. It was intoxicating because it was so surprising in every way, and you can just get lost there. Did you feel enveloped in that community? So when I went out there, they found Freeda and then they went down for two weeks for Christmas before we started filming, and I just stayed back. I was actually hoping to just try and hang out with her because I had a huge crush on her, but she went off and wasn't around.

So you're seventie and there by yourself.

So you're seventie and there by yourself.

Yeah, I'm there by myself. And I told Danny I want to just kind of feel the culture and let it kind of seep in. And I was very afraid, and I hadn't traveled alone before, but I had my padm which I was saving, so I put some in my pocket and I would walk the streets every day. And even though I looked like everyone, they could just they call them FREDUNGI, you know, like a foreigner. They just tell that I was a foreigner with the way I moved and just my cadence. And you know, it doesn't matter how chaotic India is and Mumbai is. Everyone has this kind of ease. No one's in a rush to go anywhere, and so they could just sense it. So it took a while for me to kind of like find that. And then you know, I spent all this time perfecting this accent, and then we shoot the movie, get done, and then a year later, Danny Bull's like, you know, the sound is not clear, We've got to redo it. And then I made him sound like a British dude from Rainer Lane it's my biggest regret. But no, it was. It took a while.

Yeah, I'm there by myself. And I told Danny I want to just kind of feel the culture and let it kind of seep in. And I was very afraid, and I hadn't traveled alone before, but I had my padm which I was saving, so I put some in my pocket and I would walk the streets every day. And even though I looked like everyone, they could just they call them FREDUNGI, you know, like a foreigner. They just tell that I was a foreigner with the way I moved and just my cadence. And you know, it doesn't matter how chaotic India is and Mumbai is. Everyone has this kind of ease. No one's in a rush to go anywhere, and so they could just sense it. So it took a while for me to kind of like find that. And then you know, I spent all this time perfecting this accent, and then we shoot the movie, get done, and then a year later, Danny Bull's like, you know, the sound is not clear, We've got to redo it. And then I made him sound like a British dude from Rainer Lane it's my biggest regret. But no, it was. It took a while.

You know, on the surface, it seems like that movie changed your life. I think it won like eight Academy Awards.

You know, on the surface, it seems like that movie changed your life. I think it won like eight Academy Awards.

Yeah, but the.

Yeah, but the.

Roles after did not come as you expected. Why do you think that is?

Roles after did not come as you expected. Why do you think that is?

Yeah, I mean, I don't want to run the risk of sounding ungrateful, because you know, I think every guy with you know, even a tickle of brown pigment in their skin at audition for that thing. And so I was very fucking lucky to get it. But I knew straight away when we went to Toronto Film Festival, you know, I'm the lead in this movie. The audience totally flipped out. And as soon as we leave the first screening, the paparazzi are outside and they're screaming Freda, Freda, and she's, you know, this gorgeous, you know, ethereal being she's a star, and they kind of the security rushed her into this car, our car and it started to leave. It drove off, and I'm standing there with the paparazzi almost like well and then you know, you see that moment from the frenzy where they just start reviewing the photos and I'm almost like joining in, like oh yeah, that's a good one, and like no one gave a fuck about the slum Dog Millionaire dude. And I knew that you got yourself. No, no, no no. But like I say, I'm the slumdog, I'm the guy in the in the poster. I knew it was there wasn't going to be a lot of room for me unless it was the you know it dude or whatever. But also, you know, I wouldn't have had it any other way because I wasn't good enough as an actor already or deserving. I needed to earn some stripes.

Yeah, I mean, I don't want to run the risk of sounding ungrateful, because you know, I think every guy with you know, even a tickle of brown pigment in their skin at audition for that thing. And so I was very fucking lucky to get it. But I knew straight away when we went to Toronto Film Festival, you know, I'm the lead in this movie. The audience totally flipped out. And as soon as we leave the first screening, the paparazzi are outside and they're screaming Freda, Freda, and she's, you know, this gorgeous, you know, ethereal being she's a star, and they kind of the security rushed her into this car, our car and it started to leave. It drove off, and I'm standing there with the paparazzi almost like well and then you know, you see that moment from the frenzy where they just start reviewing the photos and I'm almost like joining in, like oh yeah, that's a good one, and like no one gave a fuck about the slum Dog Millionaire dude. And I knew that you got yourself. No, no, no no. But like I say, I'm the slumdog, I'm the guy in the in the poster. I knew it was there wasn't going to be a lot of room for me unless it was the you know it dude or whatever. But also, you know, I wouldn't have had it any other way because I wasn't good enough as an actor already or deserving. I needed to earn some stripes.