10 Best Dev Patel Movies & TV Shows, Ranked

Ever since Dev Patel made his on-screen debut at the age of 17 on the E4 British teen drama “Skins,” he’s been a consistent presence in film and television. Born in the United Kingdom to Gujarati parents, Patel has consistently redefined what it means to be an Indian actor working in Hollywood, whether it involves championing the types of stories that rarely get told in American and British cinema, or expanding the breadth of roles that casting directors often put them in consideration for. Over the course of his career, he’s earned an Academy Award nomination and took home a BAFTA, the highest film honor in his native England. 

To be perfectly honest, Patel doesn’t really have a lot of stinkers to his name (the dire live-action production of “The Last Airbender” from M. Night Shyamalan notwithstanding). So, when we look at his career highlights, we’re looking at good-to-great films, unlike a lot of other actors who have a much broader range in terms of quality. But regardless, we’ve put together the best of the best that Patel has been involved in, some that you’ve likely seen before and some that you may never have heard of — hopefully, you’ll find at least a few new movies for your watchlist!

Based on the true story of the 2008 Mumbai attacks that saw the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel under seige by terrorists, “Hotel Mumbai” is a gripping action thriller that — as its 88% Popcornmeter score on Rotten Tomatoes suggests — had audiences on the edge of their seats. It stars Patel as Arjun, a waiter at the hotel who finds himself trapped in the hotel as the Lashkar-e-Taiba jihadist organization launches one of many coordinated attacks. He’s stuck there, alongside many hotel guests (most prominently among them David, played by Armie Hammer) in a desperate bid for survival. 

Patel received positive reviews for his performance, as Katie Goh of The Guardian called him “subdued yet excellent” in his role as Arjun, while the film as a whole received praise, with Katie Walsh of the Tribune News Service describing it as “deeply humane and moving.” It was also, interestingly enough, hugely significant for Patel on a personal level — he met his girlfriend, Australian actress Tilda Cobham-Hervey, on the set of “Hotel Mumbai,” and the two went public with their relationship a few months later.

“The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel” is a charming dramedy that, if nothing else, serves as a veritable who’s who of the British film industry. Revolving around a group of geriatric retirees who relocate to Jaipur, India, to live out their golden years in style, it stars Judi Dench, Maggie Smith, Bill Nighy, Tom Wilkinson, Penelope Wilton, and many others. (If you’re keeping track, that’s three dames and an OBE — Order of the British Empire.) Alongside these venerable cinema and stage icons was Dev Patel as Sonny, the eternally optimistic manager of the Best Exotic Marigold Hotel, who’s holding together a slightly less-pristine-than-advertised retirement home with scotch tape and a little can-do attitude.

On the surface, “The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel” is a safe, predictable English dramedy aimed squarely at a middle-aged and up demographic. But it clearly connected with a broader audience base, because it was a box office hit, earning over $130 million on a $10 million budget. It was even popular enough to merit a sequel, “The Second Best Exotic Marigold Hotel,” in 2015, which brought back many members of the original cast, including Patel.

Aaron Sorkin has a Midas touch when it comes to politically-themed television, and “The Newsroom” is no different. Starring Jeff Daniels as a cantankerous news anchor of a popular television network, “The Newsroom” captures the day-to-day drama of life working in the media. Dev Patel plays Neal Sampat, a young member of the team who is responsible for handling Will McAvoy’s (Daniels) news blog. Out of all his colleagues, he’s the one who champions the role of digital media in a constantly evolving media landscape.

Although “The Newsroom” doesn’t hold a candle to Sorkin’s best television output (yes, we’re talking about “The West Wing”), it’s still a respectably entertaining show with the kind of rapid, razor-sharp dialogue that we’ve come to expect from the writer. It ran for three seasons on HBO, and earned star Jeff Daniels his first Emmy for best lead actor in a drama series (he’s since won a second for “Godless”).

Don’t get us wrong — we don’t really want Dev Patel to take on the role of James Bond, if only because his regular creative output is so interesting we’d hate to see it put on hold while he’s bogged down with such a labor-intensive franchise. But if Patel did have his eye on the role, “The Wedding Guest” would be about as good of an audition for 007 as you could imagine. In it, he plays the mysterious, monosyllabic Jay, who kidnaps Pakistani bride-to-be Samira (Radhika Apte) the night before her wedding. But plot twist: This was all a plan to circumvent an arranged marriage orchestrated by Samira and her boyfriend Deepesh, and things are about to get a little more complicated.

“The Wedding Guest” is not without its narrative flaws, but it deserves credit for how well it showcases Patel in its lead role. Released in 2018, this was our first glimpse of Patel’s potential as an action star as well as a legitimate leading man — something that seemed unlikely earlier in his career. Between Patel’s keen and penetrating screen presence and director Michael Winterbottom’s stunning Indian cinematography, “The Wedding Guest” is worth a watch even as it’s largely flown under the radar.

Based on a true story of an Indian-born Australian man attempting to rediscover his roots, “Lion” is an emotional rollercoaster from start to finish. A young Indian boy lives happily with his mother and siblings, only to be separated from them when he gets on a train, falls asleep, and winds up thousands of miles away from home. With no way of finding his way back — he doesn’t understand the Bengali language spoken in Kolkata, and no one is able to identify the village name he gives them — he is adopted by an Australian couple, played by Nicole Kidman and David Wenham. But as an adult, he becomes increasingly interested in trying to track down his birth family and reforge a connection with his culture.

“Lion” earned a tremendous amount of praise for its lead performances from Patel and Kidman, who have an incredible bond on-screen as mother and son. Both were nominated for an Academy Award for their work, and the film also received a nod for best picture. Although “Lion” was nominated in six categories, it went home empty-handed — but it had a bit more luck at the BAFTAs, where Patel won for best actor.

Sometimes, it seems as though the British teen drama “Skins” launched the careers of half of England’s millennial actors, and Dev Patel is no exception. Alongside Nicholas Hoult, Daniel Kaluuya, Joe Dempsie, Hannah Murray, and Kaya Scodelario (seriously, that’s how stacked the cast is — and that’s not even the whole cast), Patel played Anwar, a Pakistani Muslim teenager who occasionally grapples with his faith in the face of a hedonistic culture he’s only too happy to indulge in. This was Patel’s first TV role, and he auditioned for the project while he was still in high school.

For young audiences in mid-2000s Great Britain, “Skins” was a formative piece of pop culture. Its randy depiction of teen life captured the imagination of a generation of viewers, even if its edgy, amped-up sexuality may not have resembled their real-life experiences. “Skins” was so popular that it ran for seven seasons, and even generated an American remake — albeit not a particularly successful one, as it was canceled by MTV after just one season.

Adapted from the classic Charles Dickens novel “David Copperfield” (not to be confused with David Copperfield, the magician), “The Personal History of David Copperfield” slaps a much-needed coat of fresh paint on a 19th-century tale. In it, Copperfield (played by Dev Patel) tells the story of his life so far, from his troubled upbringing dominated by an abusive stepfather and aunt to his efforts to carve out a living for himself, despite constant setbacks. 

Although the original novel is a dramatic piece save for the winking satirization of Victorian society that Dickens was known for, “The Personal History of David Copperfield” embraces a witty sense of humor that gives it a lightness of touch. The entire production is filled with talented supporting actors who understand the assignment, from Ben Whishaw as the odious Uriah Heap to Tilda Swinton as his slightly dotty great-aunt Betsey Trotwood, but it’s Patel who deserves the lion’s share of the credit for making the film such a delight to watch.

An action thriller set in India, “Monkey Man” is Dev Patel’s most significant passion project to date. Not only does he star as Kid, a heel in a sketchy fighting ring who embarks on a mission of revenge against the man who killed his mother when he was a child, but Patel also serves as writer, director, and producer. And although “Monkey Man” received almost unanimous praise, particularly for its fight sequences and stylish visual flair, it was a difficult film to get off the ground. After convincing financiers that he could handle shooting “Monkey Man” despite never directing before, the film was just about to start shooting right when Mumbai shut down as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to significant delays. (And this is without even getting into Patel’s many on-set injuries.)

Once the film was in the can, it seemed for a while as though it wouldn’t have a distribution deal — until Jordan Peele saw a cut of “Monkey Man” and found it a home at Universal. Although it was certainly a rollercoaster ride, Patel has no regrets about getting this film out into the universe. He told Rolling Stone, “I’ve realized that there is an entire generation out there like me, that grew up on Korean action movies and Shah Rukh Khan blockbusters and Arnold Schwarzenegger and Jim Carrey. I wanted to give those of us who want our own hero our own story. I wanted to make an action film that both said something and that a movie that Little Dev would have watched over and over again. And I think I actually managed to pull it off.”

This bubbly drama directed by Danny Boyle went a long way towards putting Dev Patel on the map as a leading man to watch. In “Slumdog Millionaire,” he plays Jamal, a young Indian man who we first meet being interrogated (read: tortured) by the police. Although he has no formal education, he’s just won the top prize of India’s “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” and no one can figure out why. 

Naturally, they assume he cheated, as no one can imagine a boy from the slums of Mumbai having a wide enough knowledge base to compete on the show, let alone win it. But over the course of “Slumdog Millionaire,” we learn how his life has taken him down unexpected paths to teach him exactly what he needs to know to answer host Anil Kapoor’s questions. From his childhood in poverty alongside his older brother Samir to his efforts to track down Latika (Freida Pinto), the long-lost love of his life, Jamal has had experiences enough to fill several lifetimes. Although “Slumdog Millionaire” has plenty of heartbreaking moments, Boyle imbues it with a hopeful tone that made audiences emotionally connect. It certainly won over Oscar voters — “Slumdog Millionaire” ended up taking home eight Academy Awards, from best picture and best director to best song for its infectious “Jai Ho” by A.R. Rahman.

Most of us have at least a passing familiarity with the stories of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table, but in the hands of director David Lowery, “The Green Knight” gives us an entirely new vision of ancient England and its most enduring heroes. Dev Patel stars as Gawain, the layabout nephew of King Arthur who has yet to rack up any accomplishments that the bards will compose songs about. But that all changes one Christmas (yes, “The Green Knight” is a Christmas movie), when a mysterious, treelike figure (played by Ralph Ineson) turns up at King Arthur’s feast, offering a unique holiday challenge. Anyone who successfully hits him wins his massive ax, but only under the condition that in a year, he’s allowed to come back and return the blow. Sounds fun, right?

“The Green Knight” has fascinating performances from its ensemble cast that includes Alicia Vikander, Barry Keoghan, and Joel Edgerton, as well as gorgeous visuals that prove how much atmosphere can be created with a comparatively small budget. (It was made for just $15 million, a mere fraction of the cost of bigger, much uglier action films — we’re looking at you, Marvel.) With a raw, earthy interpretation of a classic legend, “The Green Knight” is one of the most thought-provoking and captivating films of the past few years. It’s just a shame that it was released mid-COVID and wasn’t able to find the theatrical audience it deserved.