Dev Patel as Jamal Malik, the protagonist, a boy born and raised in the poverty of Bombay. Boyle considered hundreds of young male actors, and he found that Bollywood leads were generally "strong, handsome hero-types." Boyle's daughter pointed Dev Patel out from the British television ensemble drama Skins, of which he was a cast member. Patel began his acting career in late 2006, when he auditioned for the television series Skins.
