EXCLUSIVE: Harish Patel reveals how he bagged Eternals & talks about his first meeting with Salma Hayek
Eternals features Angelina Jolie and Salma Hayek in pivotal roles. Harish Patel plays Karun in the movie.
Actor Harish Patel has been in the news ever since he was first spotted by fans in the first look of Eternals from a video that was released by Marvel in May this year. Patel plays the role of Karun in Eternals, which also features Hollywood biggies like Angelina Jolie and Salma Hayek in the lead. Now, in an exclusive conversation with Pinkvilla, Patel opened up about being a part of this much anticipated movie. Harish Patel spoke about the process through which he bagged the film, and about his first meeting with Hayek.
“As a first step, the casting directors of that production house do their entire home work on the role, after which they select the actors for that part. Once that is done, they contact the agency and the manager of that actor. Casting directors of India please listen to what I am saying. They give all the details of the project, of the role and sometimes even share the script. Now Marvel is very secretive about their script, so that is a completely different matter, but other details like who is the director, the producer, where will the shooting take place - all these details are given that an actor should know about,” says Patel, adding then they ask the actor if they want to play the part.
He further adds, “So at the time when they had given me this role (in Eternals), the name of my character was not Karun, it was something else which I don’t remember now. So three months after I gave the audition and they were to start shooting in September, on 28th or 29th of August my manager sent me a message stating that I’ll have to go to London for the final audition, and the mail that I had received inquired if I could fly the next day. I said it doesn’t happen like that, as I’ll have to apply for the entertainer visa only after which I can enter the country and give the audition.”
Fortunately, the actor got his visa in a few days, and immediately took a flight for London. “When I reached there in the morning, they directly took me to Pinewood Studios where they were about to start the shoot from the 12th. I did my audition there, we all hugged and then I left for my hotel. When I had just reached the lobby and was going towards my car, an Assistant Director came up to me and asked me if I could join them for a table read. I told her I was hungry, so she said all the arrangements are made upstairs. So I went there, took my plate and just when I was serving myself, someone patted me on my back and said hello. I found that voice very sweet, so when I turned back to see who it was - it was Salma Hayek. She told me, ‘Congratulations, you’re doing Karun’s role,” informs Patel, adding that back then he didn’t know who Salma Hayek was.
To see the full interview, watch the below video:
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