"You just kind of feel defective."
Himesh Patel is one of the finest film actors in the current showbusiness.
However, Himesh began his career on BBC’s EastEnders. In 2007, he joined the show as Tamwar Masood.
Awkward, clever, and geeky, Tamwar was an instant hit. Fans loved him for his shyness, which often generated humour.
But behind the laughs, Himesh was grappling with his own struggles.
The actor recently opened up about his struggles with acne – a teenage phase which sees young people deal with spots and pimples.
Himesh Patel revealed: “When you’re a teenager and you have acne, it’s the worst thing in the world.
“But then when you’ve got acne in front of millions of people every week in EastEnders, it’s a whole other thing.
“It was rough. You just kind of feel defective because you’re surrounded by actors.
“Everyone gets spots, but I just felt the pressure. So I try and do better now.
“I think there is something undeniably difficult about ageing in different ways.
“I grew up having really thick hair, and the hairdressers were always like, ‘You’re gonna be fine’.
“Then I turned 30, and it just started evacuating the building. So I’m feeling it a bit.
“But, ultimately, I think it’s still more of a pressure for women.
“So I’m very wary of going a bit too far in the other direction.
“I just think you can take care of yourself, and that will hopefully help you along as best as you can.
“Like, ‘Don’t smoke 20 a day. Don’t spend too long in the sun’.”
As Tamwar, Himesh Patel was involved in some key EastEnders storylines.
These included his relationships with Afia Masood (Meryl Fernandes) and Nancy Carter (Maddy Hill).
In 2011, Tamwar was burned in a fire, which left him badly scarred.
He also formed a good friendship with Darren Miller (Charlie G Hawkins) and offered support to his older brother, Syed Masood (Marc Elliot), when the latter was ostracised for being gay.
Himesh chose to leave the soap in 2016, and since then, he has gone on to appear in several acclaimed films.
These included Yesterday (2019) and Tenet (2020).
In 2021, Himesh starred in Netflix’s Don’t Look Up.
Directed by Adam McKay, it starred iconic Hollywood stars, including Leonardo DiCaprio, Jennifer Lawrence, Meryl Streep, Jonah Hill, and Ariana Grande.
Himesh Patel was last seen in The Assessment, where he played Aaryan.
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