Dev Patel had to "really prove himself" to get the job in ‘Lion’.
The 26-year-old actor admits he had to work hard to shake off his ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ past as film bosses were looking for someone "fresh and new and hungry" for the role.
He said: "There were a lot of reservations about me being the guy from Slumdog. They’re like, ‘We’ve seen that. We need someone fresh and new and hungry,’ and they just wanted someone that could really transform for the role … I had to go in and really prove myself and fight against this preconceived notion that everyone had in the room, which made me want it even more really."
And Dev admits the script left him in tears when he first read it as it was "written so poetically and viscerally".
He added to E! News: "It really changed my life in a really big way. I know it sounds really cliche, but the script – you read the first 30 pages and you’re following this tiny boy in this suffocating city alone and he doesn’t say much, but the way it’s written so poetically and viscerally – I was in tears. It’s just one of those journeys that never really come around."
Meanwhile, Dev previously admitted he felt he "became a man" during the process of making the movie.
He shared: "After the audition, [Davis] said ‘If we decide to go with you. I really want you to change.’ He said he wanted to see a Dev Patel that no one has ever seen before. I become a man, really."
And Dev told his agent to clear his schedule so he could be fully committed to the project.
He explained: "I called my manager straight after I walked out of the audition and told him that if I get it, don’t send me anything for the next eight months. Don’t distract me with any other work or audition."
Dev Patel had to ‘prove himself’ to Lion bosses
