Photographs by GREG WILLIAMS
Actor Himesh Patel tells Hollywood Authentic about his love of routine, ‘Blimey O’Reilly’ and his camera.
How important is a little bit of nonsense now and then to you?
Very important. As a father of two children, nonsense is a valuable distraction technique.
What, if anything, makes you believe in magic?
Sometimes there are coincidences in life that feel too impossible to be purely coincidences.
What was your last act of true cowardice?
Oh god. Bear with me…let me just call my therapist…
What single thing do you miss most when you’re away from home?
Apart from my children and wife, the benefits of having a routine.
Do you have any odd habits or rituals?
I use a lot of very British turns of phrase in an unironic way. ‘Blimey O’Riley’, ‘Flippin ‘eck Tucker’, ‘Deary me’, ‘nincompoop’.
What is your mantra?
Be kind.
What is your party trick?
My party trick is not having a party trick. It isn’t very popular.
What is your favourite smell?
My mother’s cooking.
What do you always carry with you?
I try to carry a camera with me that’s not my phone. Lately a Fuji GA645 medium-format film camera.
What is your guilty pleasure?
Food that’s not good for you. Sweet pastries of late.
Who is the silliest person you know?
My best mate Tom, who I’ve known for 25 years.
I can always rely on him to get me out of a funk with something utterly stupid.
What would be your least favourite way to die?
In any way that wouldn’t leave me time to say goodbye to my loved ones.
What’s your idea of heaven?
A peaceful sunny week by the sea, with my family and my closest friends, just listening to great music, eating great food, laughing, watching movies, playing board games. Just soaking in the very best ways to be alive.
British actor Himesh Patel rose to prominence playing Tamwar in EastEnders before switching to the big screen with Yesterday. He went on to impress in The Aeronauts, Station Eleven, Tenet, Enola Holmes 2 and 3, Don’t Look Up and The Assessment. He recently reunited with Christopher Nolan for The Odyssey and has just wrapped on filming Ryan Coogler’s reboot of The X-Files.
Photographs by GREG WILLIAMS
*Arguably one of the most memorable (and quotable) scenes in 1971’s Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory is when Mr Salt mumbles, ‘It’s a lot of nonsense,’ to which Wonka replies, in a sing-song voice, ‘A little nonsense now and then is relished by the wisest men.’
