Who is Bollywood’s surprise Marvel star? Harish Patel plays Karun in new superhero film Eternals opposite Angelina Jolie, Salma Hayek and Kumail Nanjiani
- Patel, who plays Karun in the Chloé Zhao-directed film, will work alongside Game of Thrones alumni Kit Harington and Richard Madden
- He also appeared in Friends star David Schwimmer’s film Run Fatboy Run with Simon Pegg, and the BBC Two series The Buddha of Suburbia
As the world patiently waits for Marvel’s next gargantuan flick, Eternals, one actor has already made news among the star-studded cast. Harish Patel, 68, is a veteran Bollywood actor who has snatched a supporting role in the upcoming film, which is set for release on November 5 in the US.
So what do we know about the actor?
He has a background in theatre
While he debuted in Bollywood with Shyam Benegal’s Mandi (1983) and shot to stardom as Ibu Hatela in Gunda (1998), Patel is also a prolific theatre actor. He worked with the late illustrious Indian theatre director Satyadev Dubey for decades, and has amassed an impressive repertoire of plays mostly in English, like Harold Pinter’s The Caretaker, Jean-Paul Sartre’s No Exit and Albert Camus’ Cross Purpose.
In 2007, Patel played the lead role in Ayub Khan-Din’s play Rafta, Rafta … which opened at the National Theatre in London to rave reviews.
He has worked with Simon Pegg and David Schwimmer
Before he was cast in Eternals, Patel had already appeared in a number of English-language films and TV shows. He starred as the Indian immigrant in BBC Two’s series The Buddha of Suburbia (1993), he played Raj the shopkeeper the TV film adaptations of writer and TV personality David Walliams’ books (Mr. Stink, Gangsta Granny, The Boy in the Dress and Grandpa’s Great Escape), and co-starred in David Schwimmer-directed Run Fatboy Run (2007) with Simon Pegg. Most recently, he starred as Haroon in The Four Weddings and a Funeral TV adaptation, which is streaming on Hulu.