5 lesser-known roles of Dev Patel that you should be aware of other than Slumdog Millionaire and Lion

He is a BAFTA winner, Golden Globe nominee and soon, if his luck helps him over Mahershala Ali in Moonlight, he could be the first proper Indian-origin actor to win an Academy Award for the Best Supporting Actor this year. Along with Dev Patel, we are also eager for February 26 to come soon and see if Patel can create an upset win over Ali and Jeff Bridges (Hell or High Water).

Though Dev Patel is born to Indian parents, he is essential a UK national, who perhaps might have only visited India when he was shooting for his movies like Slumdog Millionaire and The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel. When we talk about Dev Patel, we mostly talk of how he was in Slumdog Millionaire (considering the movie's Oscar sweep), the saccharine sweet The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and its sequel ('cos of the Indian connection), M Night Shyamalan's derided blockbuster The Last Airbender (that earned Patel his only Razzie nomination) and of course, Lion. These below performances of his have perhaps flown under the radar. So in this special feature, let's look at 5 underrated performances of Dev Patel's that you should not miss out…

Skins

Before he became known world wide for his breakthrough movie, Slumdog Millionaire, Dev Patel was quite known among the teen crowds in UK for his debut TV series, Skins. It is said the character of the fun-loving, sexually active British born Pakistani boy was written specifically keeping his image in mind. As Anwar Kharral, Dev Patel was one of the very popular characters of the show, that starred Nicholas Hoult, Kaya Scodelario and Jack O'Connell, though he left the show after two seasons for Slumdog Millionaire.

Here's what Radio Times have to say about Dev Patel in Skins – “By contrast, some of his co-stars are now doing rather well – and the fact that this anniversary comes in a week when one of the original stars has been nominated for an Oscar (Dev Patel for Lion) isn't an entirely trite comparison in the vein of those “wow, look how this young actor has aged” pieces either.”

The Road Within

A very underrated road trip movie, The Road Within is a remake of a German movie, Vincent Wants to Sea. Dev Patel stars as Alex, an OCD suffering teen committed to a behavioral facility. When he sees his fellow inmates Vincent, who suffers from Tourette's Syndrome and Marie who had eating deficiency disorder, trying to escape from the facility, he tries to stop them only to get kidnapped himself. On a trip to find a mysterious beach Vincent wants to go to, the three bond with each other even with their own complications. With a bitter-sweet premise and terrific performances, especially from Patel, The Road Within should not be missed.

Here's the Variety has to say about Dev Patel's performance – “Displaying a real live-wire presence different from anything he's done before, Patel makes an arrestingly twitchy foil, even if Alex — who reveals a few more tics here than in his German incarnation — never transcends his function as a generator of easy laughs. The actor's comic timing is impeccable; if only “The Road Within's” emotional epiphanies didn't also arrive so perfectly on cue.”

The Newsroom

The popular show that is all about backroom politics of a news channel, The Newsroom has Dev Patel playing electronic media expert, and later blog writer for Will McAvoy (Jeff Daniels). He got the NAACP Image Award nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Drama Series.

Here's what New Yorker has to say about Dev in The Newsroom – “The most prominent is an Indian staffer named Neal Sampat, played by Dev Patel. The dialogue makes fun of McAvoy for calling him Punjab and referring to him as “the Indian stereotype of an I.T. guy,” but the show treats Neal with precisely that type of condescension.”

Chappie

Though Neill Blomkamp could not repeat the success of his first movie, District 9, CHappie is his most underrated work. Though the movie got mixed reviews on release, it has plenty of engaging moments, especially how Chappie the robot learns how humanity functions. Dev Patel, as its creator, gives him the good moral compass.

Here's what Den of Geek has to say about his performance in CHappie – “The fresh-faced Dev Patel, by contrast, is perfect as milquetoast programmer Deon, who's more used to life in an office than the garbage-strewn wasteland where Ninja and Yolandi dwell; Patel invests what might otherwise have been a stock character with an earnest charm.”

The Man Who Knew Infinity

Dev Patel played the late brilliant mathematician Srinivasa Ramanujan in this biopic, and gave one of the finest performances of his career. His scenes with G. H. Hardy, played by Jeremy Irons, are of course the highlights of the movie, and both Patel and Irons have an easy camaraderie to show.

Here's what RogerEbert.com has to say about Dev in The Man Who Knew Infinity – “Rather than the youthful unease of Patel's “Slumdog Millionaire” breakthrough, Ramanujan requires a sense of obsessive urgency and unwavering self-confidence about his destiny. The actor captures these traits perfectly without resorting to off-putting bravado or compromising his abundant natural appeal, from his character's purposeful stride to his insistent declarations of his belief in himself.”

We wish Dev Patel all the very best for his AA nomination, and hope he brings home Uncle Oscar.