Showing posts with label Dev Patel. Show all posts

Friday, 28 April 2017

Freida Pinto on why she rejects roles 'not worth her time'...'I didn't want to play the pretty girl'

'I didn't want to play the pretty girl': Freida Pinto on why she rejects roles 'not worth her time'... as she talks of her 'pride' in 'fantastic' ex Dev Patel

PUBLISHED: 17:22, 28 April 2017 | UPDATED: 17:24, 28 April 2017

She is currently starring in Guerrilla, a gritty six-part Sky Atlantic drama about racial struggle and the Black Power Movement in 1970s London.

And stunning Slumdog Millionaire star Freida Pinto has now revealed that she decided she 'did not want to play the pretty girl', and insists on going for acting roles which she considers 'worth her time'.

Speaking to Red magazine for their June issue, the actress, 32, discussed her relationship with former long-term boyfriend and Slumdog Millionaire co-star, BAFTA winner Dev Patel, 27.

Serious: Slumdog Millionaire star Freida Pinto, 32, has revealed she decided she 'did not want to play the pretty girl', and insists on going for acting roles 'worth her time'

The Rise of the Planet of the Apes star said she wants to be seen for more than her appearance.

Freida said that before filming for Guerrilla, being seen as a pretty face was preventing her reaching her potential.

She told the publication: 'I enjoyed the films I made, but my full potential wasn’t explored. I didn’t want to play the pretty girl. I was fed up of playing those little roles. I didn’t relate to them.

'I have no problem with supporting characters, but I wanted one worth my time, that moved the plot around.'

Worth more: The star said that before filming for Guerrilla, being seen as a pretty face was preventing her reaching her potential

The Immortals actress also spoke about her ex Dev, 27, who is now dating Lion co-star Tilda Cobham-Hervey, 23.

The pair met on the set of Danny Boyle's hit 2008 movie Slumdog Millionaire, before continuing to date for nearly six years.

But despite the break up, the former couple have remained friends, and the talented actress is 'proud' of her super successful ex.

She said: 'At the end of the day he’s a fellow actor and my friend. I’ve seen the hard work he’s put in, and seeing it pay off [by winning the BAFTA] is the most beautiful thing.

'How could I not feel proud? He was fantastic in that film [Lion].'

Former flames: Freida also discussed her relationship with former long-term boyfriend and Slumdog Millionaire co-star, BAFTA winner Dev Patel, 27 (pictured 2009)

Long-term couple: The pair met on the set of Danny Boyle's hit 2008 movie before continuing to date for nearly six years

The star, who has previously said the pair broke up after she had a 'quarter life crisis', said she learned from the relationship.

She said: 'People come and go and everyone teaches you something. You need to embrace the good and bad, the ugly and beautiful.

'I’m not a love guru. I don’t have any tips on how to keep a break-up friendly. Just be open and honest.'

And when asked about impact of the six year age gap between the former couple, she responded: 'When you’re in a relationship, you’re in a relationship. You’re in it because you love the person.

'Things like age and wealth, none of it matters. You make it work, that’s it.'

Quarter life crisis: Freida split with Slumdog Millionaire co-star Dev in 2014 after a long term relationship and is currently single

Freida discussed the new series, which is set in London in 1971 and based around characters and events in the British Black Power movement during the 1970s.

Her series co-stars include James Bond favourite Idris Elba and his fellow British star Babou Cessay.

The trio address current hot topics of race, identity and political violence in the six-part drama.

The star told Red magazine she did everything she could to get the part opposite acting idol Idris.

She explained: 'I said, "No-one else can play this part. It is going to be me". Idris is fearless, and I want to work with fearless people.

'He’s generous with his talent. When he’s on set, everyone is enamored by him, but he never acted starry.'

Read the full interview in the June issue of Red magazine, on sale May 3

Freida, who currently lives in the US, is not just passionate about playing earthy, substantial roles on screen, but takes great interest in current events.

The star said that with Donald Trump in charge, America does not feel like the same country to which she emigrated after her Slumdog success.

She said: 'I am opinionated about the things I believe in.

'Sometimes people who don’t like confrontation find it hard to be around me.

'What’s happening right now isn’t just political, it’s inhumane. It’s divisive.

'I have friends in the Muslim nations affected by the travel ban. This is not the US I came to.

'I was accepted after arriving from India and being in one film.'

Read the full interview in the June issue of Red magazine, on sale May 3. For further exclusive content, please go to www.redonline.co.uk

Worthy roles: Freida discussed the new series, which is set in London in 1971 and based around characters and events in the British Black Power movement during the 1970s

Red Online | Fashion, Beauty, Recipes & More from Red magazine - Red Online

Saturday, 8 April 2017

Freida Pinto tells why her relationship with Slumdog Millionaire co-star Dev Patel hit the rocks

'I had a midlife crisis at 28': Freida Pinto tells why her relationship with Slumdog Millionaire co-star Dev Patel hit the rocks

Freida Pinto discusses how she hit an existential crisis at the age of 28
Reveals why she and Slumdog Millionaire co-star Dev Patel split in 2014
Discusses her new leading role in Sky’s six-part drama Guerrilla

By Jenny Johnston For Weekend Magazine

PUBLISHED: 23:31, 7 April 2017 | UPDATED: 23:31, 7 April 2017

Freida Pinto discusses how she hit an existential crisis at the age of 28

We’ve all heard of the midlife crisis, but what of the quarter-life one which is supposed to hit in the twenties or thirties?

Actress Freida Pinto, 32, thinks she might have had one. ‘For me it started at the age of 28, 29. Maybe it’s the body. Maybe it’s something about moving into womanhood from being a girl. You start asking, “What do I really want?”’

Do you ask yourself that even if you’re a millionaire actress with an A-list boyfriend? Yes, it seems – when Freida’s crisis hit she was enjoying Hollywood success and was in a steady relationship with her Slumdog Millionaire co-star Dev Patel.

‘There comes a point where you’ve got everything you want – career, love, family – but you’ve ignored yourself. Life hits you and you think, “What about me? What do I really want?”’

She’s explaining, in a roundabout way, why she and Dev split in December 2014, and why she’s currently single.

‘For the first time, I finally understand the concept of self-love and self-care,’ she says. ‘I’m single and happy, and busy. I haven’t been single for a long time. It’s like being born again.’

Not that she’s dismissing the relationship that was kindled when the pair – both unknowns – became overnight stars thanks to Slumdog, which was a box office smash in 2008.

‘You can be with someone and it can be really good for your growth,’ she says. ‘That’s what Dev was for me. The seven years I was with him were so impactful. But I ended up being single when I started thinking about these other things.’

They’re still great friends, she insists. ‘You can’t share such a monumental shift in life, then not be friends. That would be the saddest thing ever.’

Freida’s new-found independence has seen her take her first leading TV role in Sky’s six-part drama Guerrilla. It’s set in London in 1971 and based on the Black Power movement in Britain – a little-known chapter of our history that’s timely given its preoccupation with issues of race, identity and extremism.

Freida split with Slumdog Millionaire co-star Dev Patel in 2014 and is currently single. Pictured as their characters Jamal and Latika in the Oscar winning film

Though no longer together Freida says that she and Dev are still best friends. Pictured: The former couple with Alexa Chung on the front row of Burberry Prorsum Spring/ Summer 2010

‘It’s set in 1971 but it could be 2017,’ explains Freida. ‘It was a chapter I didn’t know anything about, and a lot of my British friends didn’t either. It’s a “what if” story. What if someone did get radicalised? What would be the fate of the revolutionaries?’

The explosive drama, loosely based on true events, focuses on young couple Jas and Marcus, played by Freida and Babou Ceesay. They’re activists who free a political prisoner and form an underground cell.

Their ultimate target is the ‘Black Power desk’, a real counter-intelligence unit that operated within Special Branch, but the show also poses questions about what would have happened if the Black Power movement had been armed.

Freida takes her first leading TV role in Sky’s six-part drama Guerrilla (pictured)

It’s the brainchild of John Ridley, who wrote 12 Years A Slave, and stars Idris Elba as Kent, a fellow activist with a more pacifist approach. Freida says, ‘The show is about how far we’ll go for our beliefs, and how the line between activism and radicalism can be crossed.’

She says this is the kind of ‘meaty role’ every actress wants, rather than the ‘pretty love interest’ they’re often offered. It’s a long way from the period immediately after Slumdog, when overnight stardom had drawbacks.

Freida talks of the ‘circus’ that builds up around Hollywood actors, and says she wasn’t ready for it. ‘The first two years were difficult. My friends said, “You’re becoming reclusive.” I was fearful. Will I have privacy any more? Will my every move be judged?’

She was terrified that she wouldn’t be allowed to make mistakes, and became paranoid.

Deciding how to follow Slumdog was tricky. Should she sign up for the first blockbuster going? The first few offers she received were stereotypical roles of the Indian girl who wants to find a husband or is stuck in an arranged marriage, showing that Hollywood still has issues about the type of part Asian actresses can play.

Freida saw the bigger picture. ‘I recognised that this opportunity had probably never happened before to someone from India. It would have been easy to take a big-budget film, but I was afraid of letting my whole culture down.’

She admits she didn’t always make the right decision and cites Rise Of The Planet Of The Apes from 2011. She played a scientist, Caroline, who turned out to be, after the editing process, just a pretty face. One US critic called Caroline a ‘boringly decorous tag-along girlfriend’.

She protests – as only beautiful people can – that she doesn’t get the fixation on looks. ‘I don’t think of myself the way people think of me. I don’t understand the concept of beautiful. If you cast the most stereo- typical beautiful person but they can’t act, what’s the point?’

Guerrilla begins on Thursday at 9pm on Sky Atlantic.

Monday, 20 February 2017

Lion pips Oscars-favourite La La Land to win L.A. Italia Fest's Best Picture accolade

Lion pips Oscars-favourite La La Land to win L.A. Italia Fest's Best Picture accolade... so could it go on to do the same at the Academy Awards?

By Becky Freeth for MailOnline

PUBLISHED: 16:03, 20 February 2017 | UPDATED: 16:55, 20 February 2017

Its clear sweep of successful Best Picture gongs means all signs point to La La Land for next week's top film accolade at the Academy Awards.

But Lion might be hot on the heels of the all-singing, all-dancing flick after scooping the win at this weekend's L.A. Italia Fest.

The Garth Davis drama, about an adopted Indian boy in Calcutta, defied the odds to prove that it's still in with a shot at next week's Oscars.

Awards season shocker: Lion (pictured with actors, from left, David Wenham, Dev Patel and Nicole Kidman) has collected the L.A. Italia Fest award for Best Picture, over Oscars-favourite La La Land

Producer Harvey Weinstein and screenwriter Luke Davies were there to collect the award at the TCL Chinese 6 Theatres in Hollywood, on Sunday.

Hinting at high hopes that the film will do the same next week, movie mogul Harvey told MailOnline, recently: 'I think the Lion time has come, we didn’t predict it when made it and we didn’t know that stuff like this would happen but it did.

'In a way it becomes a source of hope, I think, to me more than anything else for so many people and I’m proud of it for that reason.'

Disbelief: La La Land (pictured with stars, from left, Emma Stone, John Legend and Ryan Gosling) has had a relatively clean sweep at awards season, so far

All-singing, all-dancing: The film and its stars have already collected Golden Globes, SAG Awards and BAFTAs

Meanwhile at the ceremony, Sunny Pawar, the eight-year-old star of the film, was presented with the Child Performer of the Year Award.

He plays young Saroo Brierley, while British actor Dev Patel portrays his older self and collected the prestiged Best Supporting Actor gong for his role, at the BAFTAs just last week.

So far this year, Lion has been beaten by La La Land at the Critics' Choice Awards, Golden Globes and BAFTAs in the Best Picture category.

But film insiders are hopeful the film could go the distance and potentially even beat the critics' early favourite, following their great success at the BAFTAs, last Sunday.

Head-to-head: La La Land (left) faces off with Lion (right) in just six days' time

A source told MailOnline: 'After Dev’s [BAFTA] win there was a lot of backstage and after party gossip saying that perhaps LION could pull off a big shock at the Oscars.

'La La Land has long been the favourite to sweep up but the feeling is that Lion has a lot of momentum right now and that’s certainly confirmed by Dev’s win at BAFTA.

'It's doing incredibly well at the box office all around the world and the talk from inside the industry is how this year’s best picture Ocar could be a close one if Lion continues to gain such strong momentum.'

Furthermore, adding to the underdog theory, the Writers Guild of America awards surprised all when Moonlight and Arrival took best original screenplay and best adapted screenplay, respectively.

This weekend, La La Land - a story about two Hollywood hopefuls - will be up for the record number of Oscar nominations.

At the ceremony: Mel Gibson (centre, left) and Sylvester Stallone (centre, right) also accepted awards at the LA-Italia Film (pictured, with founder Pascal Vicedomini, and actors/directors Mel Gibson (L) and Sylvester Stallone

Going, going gong: Mel accepted Best Director and Stallone took the Jack Valenti lifetime achievement award

It meets the number once achieved by Titanic, which won 10 out of 13 during the 1998 ceremony.

And while both of La La Land's lead actors, Emma Stone and Ryan Gosling, are recognised in the Best Actor categories, Dev could still take one of Lion's five prizes, for Best Supporting Actor.

Dev has come a long way since his TV debut in British teen drama Skins, earning international acclaim for his international breakthrough role in Danny Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire (2008).

He has subsequently starred in The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, The Last Airbender and Chappie.

Hopeful: British actor Dev Patel (right) is hopeful for one of the five Oscar nominations this weekend, in the Best Supporting Actor category for Lion (here with Rooney Mara)

The underdog: Actor Dev took the BAFTA for Best Supporting Actor last weekend, hinting that the underdogs could take it, at this weekend's Oscars

He's come a long way: Dev found fame on E4 teen drama Skins, in 2007

From Slumdog to underdog: Since then, he's achieved acclaimed roles in such films as Slumdog Millionaire

Of the recognition, he told People: 'The fact that our little movie, that we shot in the middle of nowhere, has made it to the Oscar stage is reason enough for us to be really happy. This has been the most beautiful journey...

'It’s up to the film gods and we are just really enjoying this time. But whenever I think it’s just a week away, my heart rate rises a little bit.'

Former awards show underdog Dev could be set for a big win since his odds have been slashed by bookies in the run-up to the Oscars.

Pre BAFTA Dev was 20/1 to win the Oscar, but he is now 6/1, according to William Hill.

Precious: At the L.A. Italia Fest awards, eight-year-old Sunny Pawar was also awarded for his role in Lion

KATCHING MY I

Pages