Interesting! This is how Harish Patel bagged Angelina Jolia and Salma Hayek starrer Eternals

MUMBAI: Harish Patel has been grabbing headlines ever since he was spotted in the first look of Eternals. The actor plays Karun in Eternals, which features Hollywood biggies like Angelina Jolie and Salma Hayek in the lead.

He opened up about being a part of this much anticipated movie. Harish spoke about the process through which he bagged the film and his first meeting with Salma. 

“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,” he says, adding then they ask the actor if they want to play the part. 

He 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, he got his visa in a few days. “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.

Credits: Pinkvilla