HIMESH PATEL

ACTOR

Himesh made his TV debut more than a decade ago, as his Eastenders alter ego Tamwar Masood. He has since broken the so-called curse of soaps and transitioned onto the big screen, working with established film directors including Danny Boyle and Christopher Nolan.

Himesh’s true acting debut was actually much earlier, as a 11-year old member of the National Youth Theatre. That was also where he met Nitin Ganatra for the first time, not knowing that he would be playing his on-screen son in Eastenders, many years later. Alongside his acting classes, Himesh began to take piano lessons, and taught himself to play the electric guitar: a skill he showed off for his role of struggling musician in feel-good rom-com Yesterday. 

Himesh has continued to resist typecasting by starring in Hollywood thriller Tenet, BBC mini-series The Luminaries, and Netflix satire Don’t Look Up. He is also a fully-paid up member of BAFTA, to bring about concrete change from the inside out, and help other non-white actors similarly break through. Himesh is next set to appear in HBO’s post-apocalyptic themed streaming series Station Eleven, along with fellow breakthrough actor Nabhaan Rizwan.