Dev Patel didn't feel "worthy" of an Oscar nomination.
Dev Patel
The 31-year-old actor was shortlisted for Best Supporting Actor at the 2017 ceremony for his work on 'Lion' alongside Michael Shannon ('Nocturnal Animals'), Jeff Bridges ('Hell or High Water'), Lucas Hedges ('Manchester by the Sea') and eventual winner Mahershala Ali ('Moonlight') but he felt he shouldn't have been up for the accolade against such "impressive creatures" because of his "natural low self-esteem".
He told the New York Times newspaper: “I didn’t feel worthy. That kind of speaks to my natural low self-esteem: You’re there with really impressive creatures, the best of the best, and you’re like, ‘I don’t know what I have to offer in this space.’ "
Dev shot to fame in raunchy UK TV show 'Skins' alongside the likes of Nicholas Hoult, Daniel Kaluuya and Joe Dempsie and he admitted reading "brutal" comments online about his alter ego Anwar hit his confidence hard.
He said: “I was a young kid going on these chat rooms and it was quite brutal. There were all these lists of who’s the favourite character on the show or who was the best-looking character, and I was always the ugliest, the least attractive. No one liked Anwar. It really took a toll on me personally.”
And Dev recalled how horrified his neighbours were when they saw the show.
He said: “It felt like suicide in the community to put your kid into a TV show and let him drop out of school at 16. While everyone else’s kid is off becoming a doctor or a dentist, I’m here on this TV show, simulating sex and taking drugs.”
The 'Slumdog Millionaire' star admitted his agent gets frustrated with him for turning down major blockbusters, which he attributes to his self-doubt.
He said: “Maybe it’s a fear of how I would fit into that world."
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