Himesh Patel has detailed how acne impacted his self esteem as a young actor.
The EastEnders star, 34, spent nine years playing Tamwar Masood on the BBC soap before landing roles in Christopher Nolan’s sci-fi thriller Tenet and Danny Boyle’s Beatles-themed romcom Yesterday.
Patel landed the role of Tamwar at 16 and stayed in the role from 2007 to 2016, when he was written out to run away with his on-screen girlfriend Nancy Carter (Maddy Hill).
Speaking to GQ, Patel said: “I’ve been doing this since I was 16. When you’re a teenager and have acne, it’s the worst thing in the world.”
“But then when you’ve got acne in front of millions of people every week in EastEnders, it’s a whole other thing,” he added.
“It was rough. You just kind of feel defective because you’re surrounded by actors. Everyone gets spots, but I just felt the pressure.”
Patel was encouraged to pursue an acting career by the teachers at his primary school, who were so impressed with his performances they advised his parents to sign him up for children’s theatre.
The Good Grief star became part of the youth troupe at the Key Theatre in Peterborough, then the Young Actors Company in Cambridge, who got him the audition for EastEnders.
Speaking to The Independent about his success after leaving the soap, Patel said: “I didn’t necessarily leave EastEnders with any sort of intention to get to any certain level.
“I just hoped I would have a career where I’d get to jump from one interesting thing to the next, and not have nine years of EastEnders seen as anything detrimental,” he added.
“But I was aware that there was, and perhaps still is, a certain perception of soap and the kind of actors who do soap, especially the kind of actors who do soap for a long period of time. So I didn’t really have high expectations.”
Patel admitted he still suffers with “imposter syndrome” over his success as he never expected his acting career to reach Hollywood.
“People aren’t meant to go on that journey. That’s not meant to happen,” he said.
“You’re not meant to do nine years on EastEnders and then get the lead role in a Danny Boyle movie.
“I’m glad I’m an example that it can be done. I hope I’m not the last young actor who establishes themselves on a soap.”
