10 Facts You Probably Didn't Know About Dev Patel

Dev Patel, who shot to fame with his role in Danny Boyle's Academy Award-wining film Slumdog Millionaire, turns a year older today. Dev will be next seen playing the role of mathematical genius S. Ramanujan in Matthew Brown's The Man Who Knew Infinity, which also stars Jeremy Irons, Stephen Fry and Devika Bhise in the lead roles.

On the occasion of his 26th birthday here are a few facts you probably didn't know about the acting powerhouse:

1. Dev's parents are Gujarati-Hindus born in Nairobi, Kenya. They emigrated to England afterwards and only met in London. Dev was born in Harrow, London in 1990.2. He started acting during his school days and he essayed the role of Sir Andrew Aguecheek in his school's production of Twelfth Night. It was his first acting assignment and he received the Best Actor Award for his performance.3. Dev attended the Whitmore High School and there he received an A* in GCSE Drama for his 'self-penned portrayal of a child in Beslam School siege'. The visiting examiner was moved to tears by his heartrending performance.4. Dev is a trained martial artist. He learned Taekwon-do at the Rayners Lane Academy. He competed in the AIMAA World Championship in 2004 and won a bronze medal there.5. Patel began his acting career with E4 teen drama Skins however, not many know that he landed the role because of his mother. Patel's mother saw the casting ad in a newspaper and took him to the audition even though he had a science exam the next day. After two auditions, he was cast in the role of Anwar Kharral, a British Pakistani Muslim teenager.6. The characterization of Anwar was partly based on Patel's personality and the role was written specifically for him after he was cast in Skins.7. Not many know that Ruslaan Mumtaz was the original choice for the lead role, Jamal Malik in Slumdog Millionaire. However, Danny Boyle found him 'too good looking' for the role. The role then went to Patel and the rest as they say is history.8. To get into the skin of his Slumdog Millionaire character, Patel went along with Boyle while scouting for filming locations, where he was able to observe the Dharavi slums for himself. He also worked at a call centre for a day and in a hotel, where he washed dishes.

9. For his role in The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, he had to take lessons in perfecting an Indian-English accent, as the producers felt that his strong native English accent would make the film less believable.10. Though he is playing a mathematical genius in his next The Man Who Knew Infinity, Patel claims that he is very bad in math and thus had a tough time essaying the role of Srinivasa Ramanujan.