Ravi Patel (actor)
Ravi Patel | |
---|---|
Born | Ravi Vasant Patel December 18, 1978 Freeport, Illinois U.S. |
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 2006–present |
Ravi Vasant Patel (born December 18, 1978) is an American actor. Patel has acted mainly in TV shows and movies, but has also written and directed an award-winning feature length documentary with his sister, Meet the Patels.[1]
Early life
Patel was born in Freeport, Illinois, the son of financial consultant father Vasant Patel and real estate agent mother Champa Patel. He spent most of his youth in Charlotte, North Carolina. He graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 2001 with double majors in Economics and International Studies. He has a sister, Geeta Patel, who is a writer/director.[2]
Career
An investment banker after college, Patel's entertainment career started after co-founding popular poker magazine All In while living in LA. During that time, he was asked to fill-in as an emcee for an arts festival talent show, during which time he performed 45 minutes of improvised stand-up in between acts, drawing huge laughs and opening the door to an unexpected stream of auditions, his first agent, and two dozen commercials that first year. Considering it a short-term opportunity, he deferred his admission to law school for one year to enjoy the serendipitous stint in entertainment. A full-time actor within a couple months, this stint became a career, which eventually taught him the importance of art and fueled an effort to fully immerse himself into the craft of acting.
He's been in over 70 national commercials, has been cast in one or two TV pilots nearly every year since 2006, and numerous films and tv shows, most notably Transformers, Scrubs, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, The Comedians, and Hawaii Five-O.
In 2008-09, Patel appeared as George Patil in six episodes on The CW's Easy Money. In 2010, Patel starred in Past Life on Fox and was set to star as the male lead in a Fox sitcom pilot called Nirvana opposite Rachael Leigh Cook.[3]
Patel co-directed and starred in Meet the Patels, a documentary that he made with his sister, Geeta Patel, that won the audience award at the 2014 Los Angeles Film Festival.[4] The film portrays Patel's autobiographical[5] journey of trying to find an Indian wife.[6][7][8] The duo have a deal with Fox Searchlight Pictures to write and direct a narrative remake of the film.[9][10]
In 2015, Patel worked in one episode of the Aziz Ansari series, Master of None.[10] From 2015 to 2016, Patel was on the John Stamos TV series, Grandfathered.[7]
Filmography
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2006 | Boys & Girls Guide To Getting Down | Rajiv | |
It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia | Lawyer | ||
2007 | Scrubs | Dr. Patel | |
Transformers | Telephone Operator | ||
2010 | Past Life | Dr. Rishi Karna | Regular |
The Last Hurrah | Ara | ||
2011 | Five | Dr. Desai | |
2014 | Meet the Patels | Himself | |
2015–2016 | Grandfathered | Ravi | |
2015 | Master of None | Ravi | |
2015 | Puerto Ricans in Paris | Hassan |
Other ventures
Patel is the co-founder of This Bar Saves Lives,[11] which donates a meal packet for every granola bar they sell. He is also an active investor in start-ups in health and wellness.[12]
References
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External links
- Ravi Patel at the Internet Movie Database
- Ravi Patel interview on the Tavis Smiley Show