Amar Chadha-Patel came to acting relatively late, only moving into the industry aged 29. However the man is certainly making up for lost time.
Chadha-Patel has already appeared in several major TV shows – including Sex Education and The Wheel of Time – and spent 2022 filming a couple more. With roles in The Decameron for Netflix and the upcoming Gareth Edwards' film True Love, it doesn't look like 2023 will be any quieter.
Currently Chadha-Patel can be seen getting his quest on, playing the enigmatic thief Boorman in the TV fantasy Willow. (Sequel to the beloved 1988 film.)
It's a breakthrough role for a number of reasons. As Chadha-Patel notes: "A South Asian man has never done the 'comedic rogue with the heart of gold' swashbuckling archetype before so that is a hell of a turn for the books."
At the rate he's going, expect plenty more books to be overturned by Chadha-Patel in the years to come.
Life
What upcoming project(s) are you most excited about?
I was lucky enough to be part of two amazing shows (15-Love and Slip) in 2022 and although vastly different, they're both incredibly strong female stories. Feel quite honoured to be part of them!
I also play a little cog in the vast machine that is Gareth Edwards new SciFi epic True Love coming out in 2023. That one is E P I C. Can't wait for the world to see that.
I'm also heading to Rome in Jan to do The Decameron for Netflix, a dark plague ridden comedy satire about a class uprising in 14th century Italy. That's gonna be all kinds of fun.
What is your proudest professional accomplishment?
Convincing the powers that be, that I was able to play Boorman in Willow. A South Asian man has never done the 'comedic rogue with the heart of gold' swashbuckling archetype before so that is a hell of a turn for the books.
If you could change one thing about your career, what would it be?
I wouldn't change a thing. I'm where I am now because of all the failings and successes in equal measure. It's been a perfect cocktail of complete unpredictability and I'm better off trying not to second guess any of that or look back. It's full steam ahead for me.
What do you hope to achieve that you haven’t yet?
I would love to get a feature film I'm co-writing with Joe Conner (a fellow music video director from my directing past) off the ground. It's a project full to the brim with ideas and historical conflicts that I've been dying to get out into the world for years and if we can make it happen, I reckon it'll cause a real splash.
Outside of your family, who is / was your biggest inspiration?
There's a fair few inspirational figures out there so it's hard to pick one. But I really admire anyone who has fought against the grain and any form of persecution, to put new ideas in the creative world and been the first to do it.
True change makers ranging from Barry Jenkins: he has set a new bar for black centric stories.
Frida Khalo: she brought a whole new meaning to art by painting her pain in the shadow of her husband.
My dear friend Jameela Jamil has been constantly resetting the markers for what is acceptable and achievable for South Asians in the media.
I'm a massive Brian Wilson fan and he redefined pop music with Pet Sounds. The list is endless if i'm honest!
Tell us something nobody knows about you…
I'm an open book to be honest but I guess not many people know that I exclusively listen to metal and hard rock in the gym.
Style
What’s your favourite item of clothing – and what does it mean to you?
I brought myself a Vivienne Westwood coat at the end of shooting Willow as a wrap gift to myself. It's the most money I've spent on anything and I'm too scared to wear it in case I spill food on it but I adore it.
Ellie (Bamber), my co-star, had to drive me to the shop to buy it because I didn't grow up wealthy and spending that much money on myself felt obscene.
Favourite accessory – watch / jewellery / etc – and why is it special to you?
I have about four silver rings in varying elephantine shapes that I bought in India, and they never leave my side.
What items do you take on holiday and why?
A good book, because I can only read when I've set a parameter for winding down and deciding I'm gonna read is a marker for me needing to wind down.
An old film camera, so that I choose which things I'm going to try and capture with a bit more scrutiny.
I always try to make a list of all the delicious food I'm gonna shove in my face. I like to eat my way around new places.
Is there an item you threw away – or lost – that you really miss?
I used to have a grey Adidas Sweater with a leopard print logo on it, that was my favourite thing ever. It was fleece lined and fet like I was wearing a duvet. I miss him.
What’s next on your shopping list?
Deodorant. I forgot it and I'm in LA and I smell.
What would you buy if money was no object?
Large amounts of land for a solar power farm and then I’d create a power grid and give as much power away to topple the fossil fuel monopoly.
No point in buying lots of expensive stuff if we’re gonna burn in 100 years…
Also, watch Willow.
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Willow is streaming now on Disney +
