Himesh Patel Covers Man About Town's Autumn/Winter 2024 Issue

“I find myself drawn to projects focused on real-life issues and satire. It’s just who I am. It’s what I like. I also like when it’s just stupid fun, like a crazy sci-fi idea. But, inevitably, a lot of the best stuff, whether intentionally or not, reflects the world back to us.” 

From Station Eleven and Don't Look Up to Tenet and Yesterday –  since charming a generation of British audiences as Tamwar Masood in soap opera Eastenders, Himesh Patel has cultivated a home in some of the most head-turning, prescient screen offerings of our time. And now comes The Franchise – HBO's movie-making satire helmed by a triad of film and TV titans (Armando Iannucci, Sam Mendes and Jon Brown) – with Patel as it’s lead, playing embattled first assistant director, Dan. 

Among Britain’s blossoming crop of international-facing, nascent leading men, the 34-year-old’s performances are powered by an unmistakably everyman, understated touch, but his rise continues to be anything but ordinary. Covering our Autumn/Winter 2024 issue, he talks satirising the industry’s inner-workings in The Franchise, gaining new insight into the value of his art, what working with some of the world’s most lauded directors has taught him and the advice he’d give his sixteen-year-old self on the infamous Albert Square. 

TAXES/DUTIES:

Photography by Matthew Healy
Styling by Luke Day
Words by Tristen Jithan

Editorial Director Charlotte Morton
Editor Andrew Wright
Art Director Michael Morton
Fashion Director Luke Day
Production Director Lola Randall
Art Direction Intern Natasha Lesiakowska

Grooming by Liz Taw at The Wall Group
Styling Assistant Zac Sunman