NEWS

Dev Patel: Fame made me grow up

13th August 2010

(Cover) - EN Showbiz - Dev Patel is mortified that he once cut up his parents’ wedding pictures for a school project.

The actor is best known for his role in 2008’s Slumdog Millionaire, and can soon be seen playing evil Prince Zuko is M. Night Shyamalan’s new fantasy film The Last Airbender. He admired Hollywood stars from a young age, telling many people he hoped to be an actor.

One of his teachers gave Dev a project which involved creating a collage depicting his life, and the star was so keen to do well he helped himself to some of his parent’s most treasured items.

“To make the collage I used my parents’ wedding pictures. First of all I cut them up and then I glued them on. In my defence, I just wanted to be a good student,” he laughed.

“I remember by teacher wrote in the margin, ‘When I am old and eating my food with my false teeth in front of the television, I hope to see you on the screen. Then I will tell everybody, that I taught you.’”

The 20-year-old admits being famous has changed him, although he hopes not for the worse. He met his girlfriend Freida Pinto on the set of Slumdog Millionaire, and that, when coupled with the worldwide fame the movie gave him, has made him re-evaluate his life.

“Definitely I’ve changed. But I am not sure if life in the film business changed me or if I've just grown up,” he told German magazine In. “I am definitely more mature now but that probably comes from being in showbiz. You are forced to grow up faster. You are confronted with so many things you won't experience in your normal life. For example, people judging you without knowing you. But maybe I haven't changed at all. It's possible that people just see me in a different way." (C) Cover Media

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