Dev Patel has opened up on the race blind casting process for his new movie, The Personal History Of David Copperfield, saying it ‘required a lot of bravery’.
The Lion actor, who’s set to star as the titular character in the Dickens adaptation, has high praise for director Armando Iannucci.
And it turns out the story is a lot more relatable than he ever would have imagined.
‘In past iterations, I haven’t seen myself represented on that screen,’ the star explained. ‘I definitely didn’t think it would appeal to me or speak to me, but Dickens is a truly universal story. I see Dickens on the streets every time I go to India, and it’s relevant to America too.’
Dev added that, being from North West London, he couldn’t be more excited for kids from his hometown to be able to relate to the characters on screen.
The new movie sees the roles of Mr Wickfield and Mrs Steerforth, which have traditionally been played by white actors, being taken on by Benedict Wong and Nikki Amuka-Bird.
And Dev is all here for it.
Chatting about being cast as the main character, the 29-year-old pointed out: ‘It feels strange calling it a bold move, but it does require a lot of bravery. When I first met Armando, I said “Are you sure, because you’re going to have to defend this decision, more than casting any other actor.”‘
‘He replied: “Absolutely, I want to be able to draw on 100 percent of the acting community in England. You watch theatre and you never question it? Why can’t film be like that?”‘
It seems that he’s absolutely smashed the role, with his co-stars raving about him when Metro.co.uk caught up with them.
‘He is just so fun and goofy, just silly behaviour,’ Rosalind Eleazar said of the Skins actor. ‘It’s so relaxed, good stuff comes out when two people are relaxed and getting on on-set.’
That’s definitely not hard to belive.
And we’ve definitely been blessed with a stellar cast for the movie, with Dev, Nikki, Benedict and Rosalind starring alongside the likes of Tilda Swinton, Hugh Laurie, and Peter Capaldi.
The Personal History Of David Copperfield is in cinemas now.
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