One night, seventeen-year-old Lauren Patel was putting off doing her homework like any student would typically do. After going on a website calling for open auditions for an Indian girl who can sing, Lauren found herself sending a get-to-know-me video to the website. About 20 days later, she landed the role of Pritti Pasha in Amazon Original Everybody’s Talking About Jamie.
“For me, the audition process was a complete whirlwind and unbelievably fast,” Lauren said. “I couldn’t believe I got it, and then, I was like, ‘oh. I actually have to make a movie. How do I even do that?!’”
Lauren initially didn’t realize that she was one of the leads in Everybody’s Talking About Jamie. The first day on set was with co-stars Max Harwood who plays Jamie and Richard E. Grant, which intimidated her a little. However, Lauren soon found out that there was little to be intimidated by.
“Everybody involved was so lovely and made me feel so supportive. Once you start watching incredible actors like Richard and Max, you’re just trying to absorb as much information as possible. It helps that they’re so kind and patient and so generous with their acting. I’ve been really lucky. It was absolutely the standard,” Lauren said.
Although she’s acted in previous projects before, Lauren said that she learned a lot from her time on set and spending time with her co-stars.
“Max was the actor that I spent the most time on set with, and I learned so much from him by just watching him work,” Lauren said. “The confidence and fearlessness that he brings with everything he does is something that I’m trying to feel a little bit because I’m not as fearless.”
Being on set opened up opportunities for Lauren not only to embrace the support and lessons that she got from the cast and crew, but to also get out of her comfort zone.
“I’m not a dancer. I’ve never danced so it was very intimidating at first. There were a lot of professional dancers who were incredibly supportive when I was trying to learn. They would take everything and slow it down, strip everything back, and teach me all the basics,” Lauren said. “It was rewarding to be stepping onto set knowing the choreography and feeling like I could do it. I owe that to them and to our wonderful choreographers as well.”
