Dev Patel hasn’t forgotten about “Skins”.
The British coming of age show was much more x-rated than the American version and starred Patel, Nicholas Hoult and Daniel Kaluuya.
Hoult was cast as the heartthrob while Patel was his counterpart, something he recently recalled to the New York Times that made him self-conscious.
“It felt like suicide in the community to put your kid into a TV show and let him drop out of school at 16,” Patel said. “While everyone else’s kid is off becoming a doctor or a dentist, I’m here on this TV show,” he said, “simulating sex and taking drugs.”
But fandom at a young age had a downside.
“I was a young kid going on these chat rooms and it was quite brutal,” Patel said. “There were all these lists of who’s the favourite character on the show or who was the best-looking character, and I was always the ugliest, the least attractive. No one liked Anwar. It really took a toll on me personally.”
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Even though his paycheques were big enough to help his family, adorably revealing with his first paycheque he bought his sister a new bed, and winning best picture for “Slumdog Millionaire” in 2009, his self-esteem was low.
“I didn’t feel worthy,” he said. “That kind of speaks to my natural low self-esteem: You’re there with really impressive creatures, the best of the best, and you’re like, ‘I don’t know what I have to offer in this space.’”
