Long term relationships and Oscar noms: Everything Dev Patel has been up to since Skins

Dev has just made his directing debut with his new film Monkey Man

2 weeks ago

Hot on the block with an epic new action flick, Monkey Man, written, directed and starring himself, Dev Patel has been up to so much since his debut in Skins and is currently taking 2024 by storm. The film took years to produce, with shooting disrupted by Covid, financiers, and a loss of crew, with Dev telling Variety the film was “basically dead.”

With this John Wick action extravaganza in cinemas, and other former Skins stars in the spotlight like Kaya Scodelario in The Gentlemen or Jack O’Connell in the new Amy Winehouse biopic, you might be wondering where Dev Patel has been since working his way into our hearts as Anwar,

He’s has been gracing the screens since 2007, but has maintained a relatively private personal life since his rise to fame. So, here’s what has doe-eyed Dev Patel has been up to for the last 15 years since Skins first aired:

2008: Dev got his Hollywood debut in Slumdog Millionaire

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Whilst casting his film Slumdog Millionaire, director Danny Boyle’s daughter recommended Dev for the lead role as she was a big fan of Skins (we can relate). The film swept the awards season, taking Oscars for just about everything, whilst Dev himself won a BAFTA for his performance.

2009: He began dating his co-star Freida Pinto

Dev met Indian actress Freida Pinto on the set of Slumdog Millionaire, with Freida playing Latika. The film was Freida’s acting debut for which she received a BAFTA nomination for Best Supporting Actress.

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2010: For better or for worse, starred in the Last Airbender

We’ll do Dev a favour and forget this one. He portrayed the iconic Zuko (is there any childhood crush this man didn’t play?) in the film by M. Night Shyamalan. The movie wasn’t a success and Dev later said it “put him off” making blockbusters, even calling it “a little bit sh*t” when a fan asked him to sign a poster at the the 2015 Toronto International Film Festival. Netflix has now released it’s own live-action adaption of The Last Airbender which is available now.

2012: Dev is cast in Aaron Sorkin’s The Newsroom

The American HBO political-drama saw Dev in a supporting role as Neal Sampat, the blog writing, internet whiz – remember, it was 2012. His costars said he had “the energy of seven people” and always made them laugh.

2014: Dev and Freida Pinto split up after five years together

After five years together, the couple called it quits. The pair remained amicable after splitting, with Pinto telling Weekend Magazine: “You can’t share such a monumental shift in life, then not be friends. That would be the saddest thing ever.”

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2016: Dev passes go, collects more awards with Lion

In 2016, Dev Patel starred in the Australian film Lion that made us all bawl our eyes out- seriously, go watch it the next time you need to wallow in a good cry. It was based off the 2013 non-fiction book A Long Way Home, about an adoptee searching India for his birth parents.

The film was awarded Best Picture at the Oscars, with Dev collecting an Oscar, BAFTA, Golden Globe, and Critic’s choice award for Best Supporting Actor. As he should!

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2017: He begins dating his current girlfriend Tilda Cobham-Hervey

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Meet Patel’s long term girlfriend – Australian actress Tilda Cobham-Hervey. They went public in March 2017, first meeting nine months earlier on the set of Hotel Mumbai, and they’ve been been dating ever since! They starred in Hotel Mumbai together, which released the following year.

Tilda is totally cool, having performed in a youth circus troupe for seven years and making her film debut aged 16, in the Indie drama 52 Tuesdays.

2019: The Personal History of David Copperfield and Modern Love

Dev took another leading role in The Personal History of David Copperfield, a lighthearted adaptation of the Charles Dickens novel. He also played Joshua in the second episode of Modern Love, in a sweet tale of chasing the one that got away.

2020 to 2024: Dev certifies himself as an A-Lister by starring in films upon films

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Patel’s schedule start’s getting packed in the 2020s. In 2021, he stunned audiences as Gawain in A24’s The Green Knight. The movie brought him into the spotlight and he received praise for his “uncanny ability to embody a combination of weakness and strength.” FYI: The movie is technically a Christmas movie, so if you want to avoid watching Elf for the one millionth time next December, just whip this underrated banger out.

In 2023 he starred in two of Roads Dahl short Netflix stories – The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Poison. The last few years have brought nothing but banger Dev Patel movies to the big screen, with fans not shy to share their enthusiasm for his work online.