1 week Ago By Peter Harris
Former EastEnders star Hamish Patel has embarked on a remarkable journey from the familiar streets of Walford to sharing the screen with some of Hollywood 's elite. Originally from Cambridgeshire, Patel cut his acting teeth in school plays, leading his teachers to encourage him to join a local theatre group. On a pivotal day when he was just 16 and receiving his GCSE results, Patel got a call that would change his life: he had an audition for a new role on EastEnders .
He landed the role and began portraying Tamwar Masood in October 2007, a character known for his scholarly pursuits but who struggled with academic disappointments, managing the family business, navigating marriage with Afia, and enduring the meddling of his domineering mother Zainab (played by Nina Wadia). Tamwar's nuptials were so popular they won the best wedding accolade at the 2011 Inside Soap Awards. In 2016, Patel decided to bid farewell to Albert Square, sensing the lure of more significant opportunities.
Reflecting on his time on the BBC soap, he opened up about his struggles with self-image during his formative years, reports the Daily Star . In an interview with GQ magazine, he shared: "When you're a teenager and you have acne, it's the worst thing in the world. But then when you've got acne in front of millions of people every week in EastEnders , it's a whole other thing.
" "It was rough. You just kind of feel defective because you're surrounded by actors. Everyone gets spots, but I just felt the pressure.
" But Patel's career trajectory has seen a stratospheric rise since those insecure days. After leaving EastEnders , his next move was to join the cast of the Jo Brand-created Channel 4 sitcom Damned in 2016. Yet it was his starring role in the Danny Boyle-helmed film Yesterday that cemented him as a leading man.
In this high-concept romantic comedy, Patel portrays a musician who, after a cycling accident, discovers he's the only person on Earth who remembers The Beatles, propelling to fame by performing their songs. Now aged 34 and based in Los Angeles, the actor is enjoying ascending stardom with one memorable role after another. Despite carving out a name for himself, Patel's humble beginnings are not forgotten by soap enthusiasts.
His appearance in the Netflix juggernaut Don't Look Up alongside Hollywood A-lister Jennifer Lawrence sent shockwaves among fans. One taken-aback viewer remarked at the time: "Tamwar from EastEnders in Don't Look Up. I really love seeing Brits in Hollywood .
" Adding to his impressive body of work, Patel graced the screen in Christopher Nolan's Tenet and earned an Emmy nomination in 2022 for his performance in the HBO miniseries Station Eleven. Portraying a post-apocalyptic world, the series revolves around a band of survivors who travel as performers. Himesh Patel is now at the helm of HBO's latest comedy sensation, The Franchise, a satirical take on the chaotic world of blockbuster movie-making in Tinseltown.
The show, which boasts the creative genius of The Thick of It's Armando Iannucci, also features the talents of Jessica Hynes and Richard E. Grant. Not content with just one hit, Patel has also shone alongside Joseph Gordon Levitt and Lily James in the film Greedy People, further cementing his status as one to watch.
In an intimate chat with midday india, Patel took a trip down memory lane, from his humble beginnings on EastEnders to mingling with the creme de la creme of the acting world. Reflecting on his journey, he remarked: "It's been five years since Yesterday came out. That was a real turning point and I'm very proud of the sort of career that I built off the back of that so far and I'm very proud of where I began.
" He continued, highlighting the rarity of transitioning from long-term soap opera roles to broader success, and advocated for the recognition of British soaps as fertile grounds for nurturing talent. Patel said: "I think it is still a rarity for someone to be on a soap in the UK for that long and then manage to break out of that and I can only speak for the British industry but for us to really see that part of our industry as a breeding ground for talent because I think it is." Acknowledging the success stories of other soap alumni, including Nathalie Emmanuel, who transitioned from Hollyoaks to starring in Francis Ford Coppola's new film, Patel emphasised the legitimacy of soaps as a starting point for actors, especially those without access to traditional drama schools.
He concluded: "There's myself, Nathalie Emmanuel who's a wonderful actress and was just in Francis Ford Coppola's new movie and she started out in Hollyoaks so it's a viable journey for people to begin there. "We have wonderful tradition in the UK of drama schools and that's great but I think we sometimes don't think hard enough about other avenues and I'm proud of the fact that I'm an example of that." The Franchise is streaming on Sky and Now TV.
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