Dev Patel has revealed he remains in touch with his fellow Skins co-stars and enjoys their success.
The star of new Dickens adaptation The Personal History of David Copperfield also discussed how he “broke open my chest cavity and put a lot of heart into” his role in the new medieval epic Green Knight.
Patel said the Skins alumni “all hang out” often and revealed he takes great pleasure in seeing his friends, including Nicholas Hoult and Daniel Kaluuya, take over Hollywood.
Kaluuya was Oscar-nominated for Get Out and won the BAFTA Rising Star Award, while Patel himself scored a nod for Lion.
Read more: What happened to the kids from Skins?
“We’re all over the place, but it’s always nice to bump into someone wherever they are,” Patel told Yahoo Movies UK.
The cast of the TV series Skins, (l-r) Aimee-Ffion Edwards, Larissa Wilson, Joseph Dempsie, Daniel Kaluuya, Dev Patel and Nicholas Hoult. (Carmen Valino – PA Images/PA Images via Getty Images)
“It’s crazy. I got [the Skins role] from an open casting, so just to be employed again is amazing and everyone is doing so well. We’re all so proud of each other.
Read more: Patel shines in David Copperfield trailer
“I get so proud when I see Daniel [Kaluuya] up there getting nominated for an Oscar or half of the crew are on Game of Thrones — the biggest television show in history. It’s amazing.”
Larissa Wilson, Joseph Dempsie, April Pearson, Mitch Hewer, Mike Bailey, Kaya Scodelario and Dev Patel attend the Channel 4/ E4 party for a one-off Skins special, 2007. (Gloucestershire), England. (Photo by Mike Marsland/WireImage)
Patel is currently promoting his performance in the title role of Armando Iannucci’s Charles Dickens adaptation The Personal History of David Copperfield.
He stars alongside the likes of Tilda Swinton, Peter Capaldi, Hugh Laurie and Morfydd Clark in a packed ensemble cast.
Patel’s next major role is as the lead character in David Lowery’s medieval fantasy Green Knight.
Dev Patel in ‘The Personal History of David Copperfield’. (Credit: Lionsgate)
When he spoke to Yahoo Movies UK at the London Film Festival in October, he had just finished shooting the ambitious project.
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Patel said: “I don’t know what I can say about it, but I’m really excited. I really just broke open my chest cavity and put a lot of heart into it.
“It’s about this old medieval poem called Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and it’s a wonderful director, David Lowery. He has put his own spin on the world, it’s a great cast in it too.”
As well as Patel, the cast of Green Knight includes Alicia Vikander, Sean Harris and Barry Keoghan.
Armando Iannucci, Hugh Laurie and Dev Patel on set of ‘The Personal History of David Copperfield’. (Credit: Lionsgate)
Patel said he was proud to have been able to work with Iannucci on David Copperfield, which is different to the more traditional adaptations of Dickens that have previously been popular.
Read more: Trailer for Iannucci’s TV sci-fi Avenue 5
He said: “Armando had somehow found a real buoyancy in this world. There’s so much light and humour.
“That was what was so exciting – existing in his kind of take on this character.
“There’s a lot of humour in it and I guess that’s how a lot of these characters got through the adversity they faced.”
The Personal History of David Copperfield is in UK cinemas from 24 January.
