Dev Patel on AllMovie

British actor Dev Patel began showing signs of his talent as a performer at a young age, earning praise for his work in school plays when he was still in primary school. Born to Indian parents, Patel grew up in the London suburb of Harrow, where he focused on drama in school. At 16, he was studying for the higher education qualifying exams that make up a rigorous portion of British academic life when he scored a role on the hit English teen drama Skins. By the next year, he was cast in the leading role of Jamal Malik in Danny Boyle's landmark film Slumdog Millionaire, playing a kid from the slums of Mumbai who experiences a miraculous series of events despite his desperate surroundings. Patel instantly became a worldwide star, and his performance in the award-winning film was celebrated by audiences and critics alike. Soon, he was parlaying the success into new projects, signing on to play Zuko in The Last Airbender.