PicoBlog

32 years ago on April 24th the love of my life Dev Patel was born I first became aware of Dev Patel after watching him in Slumdog Millionaire back in 2008 and he quickly became one of my favorite actors.

Since then I’ve enjoyed following his career and getting to see him grow as an actor. I genuinely believe he’s one of the best actors of our generation. While the past two years he has grown in popularity, with most people understandable focusing on his good looks, I feel that he’s a bit underrated.

I know what you’re thinking but please hear me out. It’s true that he does get recognition for his acting abilities. In 2008 he was nominated for a BAFTA for his role in Slumdog Millionaire, making him one of the youngest nominees ever in the Best Actor in a Leading Role category. Since then he’s racked up numerous awards and nominations including an Oscar and an Emmy nomination. Though he’s widely recognized and praised for his big studio films it’s his television and indie work that I appreciate more.

During the pandemic I made it a goal to watch his work that I’ve never seen which lead me to finally watch Skins, The Newsroom, The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and unfortunately Chappie. From this little marathon, I came to a realization- Dev Patel is an amazing comedic actor. It’s a shame that we don’t really get good studio comedy films anymore because I think he would kill it starring in one. He would also do really well in an action franchise. You can criticize a lot in The Last Airbender but his performance is not one of them and I would love to see him in another role where he can show off his black belt in Taekwondo*. Unfortunately he seems a bit scarred from the backlash of that film and has shied away from blockbuster films ever since.

In more recent years he’s turned behind the camera and has started to write and direct. Last year he sold his feature directorial debut Monkey Man, which he co-wrote and stars in, to Netflix for $30M. It is my most anticipated film of 2022. I’m really excited for this new phase of his career and can’t wait to see where it goes.

*looks like we might this with Monkey Man

Keeping with the theme of this week’s newsletter. Here’s a list of things Dev Patel has been in that you can stream today.

Skins | Seasons 1&2
The show that started it all!
Where to watch: Hulu

Slumdog Millionaire| Danny Boyle
The film that launched our boy into stardom. I am still upset that though this film was nominated for 10 Academy Awards, 8 of which they won, none of them were in the acting categories though it was definitely deserved. How can it be the best picture but none of the acting was worth rewarding?
Where to watch: Tubi

The Last Airbender | M. Night Shyamalan
Shyamalan’s live action adaptation of the popular Nickelodeon cartoon was panned by most, and understandably so, but Dev gives a very layered performance as Zuko. My favorite part of it is the accent he uses which you can watch him breakdown his reasoning for here.
Where to watch: HBO Max

Lion | Garth Davis
His performance as Saroo in this earned Dev his first Oscar nomination and his first BAFTA award. He was frustratingly campaigned in the supporting actor category instead of lead :(
Where to watch: Prime, Pluto TV

Chappie | Neill Blomkamp
If you ask Dev The Last Airbender is his worst movie. It’s not, it’s this. Only watch this if you hate yourself.
Where to watch: Netflix

I Lost My Body | Jérémy Clapin
Dev voiced Naofel in the English version of this French adult cartoon. Voice acting is a skill that many actors, even those considered to be great in their field, struggle with. That is not the case for Dev Patel. This is a beautiful film and his performance just adds to it.
Where to watch: Netflix

Modern Love | Episode 2 and 8
Dev managed to snag a unexpected Emmy nomination for his role as Jonathan in the first season of the Amazon Prime show. In fact, his nomination was the only Emmy nomination the show received. Dev Patel is one of those guys who looks hotter with glasses which he showed off in this swoon worthy performance.
Where to watch: Prime

Home Shopper | Dev Patel
This unfortunately stars his Hotel Mumbai co-star Armie Hammer but his directorial debut, which he wrote, is interesting and worth a watch.
Where to watch: Facebook

The Wedding Guest | Michael Winterbottom
Honestly not the greatest film but the chemistry between Dev Patel and Radhika Apte is amazing and he’s shirtless for a large portion of it.
Where to watch: Netflix

The Newsroom
I know people have very strong (usually negative) opinions on Aaron Sorkin and his work but I actually tend to like him. The Newsroom is a very Sorkin however I think people should give it a try. I enjoyed it and really liked Dev Patel’s character Neal though I do have issues with what they did with his character during the third season.
Where to watch: HBO Max

Upcoming Releases 🎥

Silverton Siege - 4/27
Pompo: The Cinéphile - Only in theaters 4/27 and 28
Crush - 4/29
Peace by Chocolate - 4/29
Respect the Jux - 5/6
Wuhan, Wuhan - 5/6

Go see Everything, Everywhere All at Once if you haven’t already.
The Atlanta Film Festival started last week and has a virtual component.

Lastly, I would like to leave you with this old youtube comment:

ncG1vNJzZmivmam1qrrOrqmgmaqae7TBwayrmpubY7CwuY6pZpqmXaSxpnnTqGSdnaZivaLAxKU%3D