“I know they didn't give me the part because they needed to tick a box. I just happen to be South Asian.'
Himesh Patel stars in"Yesterday" as a struggling singer-songwriter who gets a boost when he becomes the only person in the world who can remember the Beatles. Growing up, he preferred indie rock and Bollywood to the Fab Four, even if “Imagine” was his mom’s favorite song.
And like his character, Patel comes from humble origins: He grew up in Cambridgeshire, two hours north of London, where his parents ran a newsagent’s shop — “a candy and chips kind of place, the hub of the village.” Patel spent nearly a decade on the show, deciding to leave three years ago to explore other creative opportunities. “Things have kind of fallen into place terrifyingly well” since then, he said.
To maintain control of his nerves, he tried to think of it as an opportunity to “hang out with these guys,” rather than try to impress them. He performed “Yesterday” and “Back in the U.S.S.R.” During the latter song, Boyle broke out dancing. “I was like ‘Oh my God, I'm singing the Beatles and Danny Boyle is dancing,’” Patel said. “I thought that second one had gone terribly actually. But it hadn't, clearly.
The filmmakers were also intrigued by Patel’s understated comedic style and almost melancholy demeanor. It was “very modern, low-key, sort of delightful, very different from the pointed [style of] someone like Hugh [Grant],” said Curtis. “I was like, ‘Look, I can just about play the guitar. I can maybe remind myself of a bit of piano. But please don't be under any illusion that I'm some sort of virtuoso. I'm going to need some [help].’ ”
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