Nikesh Patel is a British actor probably best known for playing an actor, Tom Kapoor, opposite Rose Matafeo’s Jessie in the BBC Three romcom Starstruck – about the on-off relationship between a movie star and a “civilian”. The show, which first aired in 2021 and is rekindled for a third series this month, has been a global hit: it has had more than 8m streams on iPlayer and has been sold to 96 countries. The 38-year-old Patel has also appeared in Indian Summers, Mindy Kaling’s Four Weddings and a Funeral, and The Devil’s Hour on Prime Video, with Peter Capaldi and Jessica Raine. He lives in London with his fiancee, the actor and broadcaster Nicola Thorp.
Had it not been for the pandemic, you wouldn’t be Tom in Starstruck…
Yeah, it was meant to go [start shooting] in March 2020. Covid happened. Didn’t go in March 2020. Anyway, long story short, by the time it came around to me, the lead actor had dropped out because of scheduling, so I felt like a complete goal hanger because this beautifully formed job came along, getting to be Rose’s romantic tennis partner. It was a real scrappy gift.
Did you go into Starstruck expecting it to be as popular as it has been?
No, I don’t know if I can ever bank on whether something’s going to be big. I can bank on if it’s going to be good: just because the quality in the writing was there. And I think it found a bit of a moment. In the best way, it’s comfort-blanket-and-glass-of-wine TV, but it’s spiky enough that it never gets too saccharine. So for people who love romcoms, it will give them what they want. And for people who don’t, because of the comedy talent involved, they’ll be lured in as well.
Is it true that your partner Nicola saw the scenes of Tom and Jessie arguing and said: “Really? You get paid to do this?”
Yeah, we watched it together and she turned to me and said: “That’s very interesting...” And I’m like: “Shut up, shut up, shut up! I transform completely to play my characters, I don’t know what you’re talking about.” But without wanging on about how I act, I’m clearly not Tom, nor would I want to be, I don’t think.
Does much of the show, which is co-created by Matafeo and fellow Kiwi comedian Alice Snedden, come from lived experience?
A lot of the fun of each season is getting together with the writers in a room, and going: “Where did this scene come from?” And sometimes it’s me going up to them asking: “Guys, how do I play tripping on brownies?” That’s where you find out that this did happen to… er, I don’t think Rose… Yeah, it happened to Rose. And Alice was with her and told me exactly how Rose handled it or didn’t handle it, and then showed me a video. So I don’t need to go Stanislavski with that. I’ve got everything I need.
What can you say about the new season?
I know, because I got permission from HQ – HQ being a WhatsApp to Rose – that I’m allowed to say that we drop back in and Tom and Jessie have broken up. And my hope is that viewers watching that are as dumbfounded as I was when I read the script. But without wanting to give too much away, the writers are really adept at understanding what viewers need, not what viewers want, if that makes sense.
You’ve said you are “lobbying aggressively” to play Rishi Sunak in a biopic. Are you being serious?
Haha, look, be careful what you wish for! In the right hands, I’d certainly be interested because what a character study. And I guess I should shamelessly burnish my credentials: I, too, am the son of a pharmacist. Though I’m not quite as wealthy as Rishi is. But yeah, there’s something about someone who is a child of immigrant parents who is also the figurehead for the most hostile environment for immigrants that I can remember. The psychology of that is fascinating.
What form should a dramatisation take?
Maybe I should say something insane like: “If someone wants to write Rishi Sunak: The Musical, I’ll do it.” Not even because I can sing, but it will take something almost that ludicrous. Do you know the writer Vinay Patel [who wrote BBC drama Murdered By My Father]? I spoke to Vinay about this and I was just like: “Come on. How many Rishi offers have you had?” And he said: “Honestly, I’ve no interest in doing the straight treatment of it.” So if anyone reading this wants to commission Vinay to write Rishi Sunak: The Musical, then we’ll do it.
Earlier this year, you and Nicola were on Channel 4’s Celebrity Hunted, in which 10 well-known personalities pretended to be fugitives. Can’t lie, I thought you might evade detection for longer…
Well, Covid did us quite badly because I tested positive the day before we were due to start, so Nic had to start on her own. And then I tried to join her and it was like finding a moving target… yeah, it was chaos. All of which is basically a lot of excuses to say that we got it harder than the others. But I’ve since become friendly with [fellow escapers] James [Acaster] and Ed [Gamble], and they were like: “How the hell did you guys get caught before we did?”
Have you done Barbenheimer?
Done Barbie, waiting to Imax Oppenheimer. But what a great thing for film at quite a tricky time. It’s going to be interesting what the knock-on from this is, because do we need the Mattel cinematic universe? I don’t know particularly. Although I will say that I was a huge childhood fan of Uno. So if they’re making Uno the movie, I’ll play pick up four.
Isn’t that the best part?
Yeah, I’ve gently offered myself the highest-value card in the game there.
Starstruck returns at 10pm on 28 August on BBC Three, and 10pm on 1 September on BBC One
