Harish Patel recalls ‘beautiful woman’ congratulating him for Eternals: ‘Palat ke dekha to Salma Hayek thi’

Actor Harish Patel, who will appear in a small role in Marvel’s Eternals, has recalled his audition process, and how he was congratulated by a woman on the sets, without realising that it was Salma Hayek. He said that of the film’s ensemble cast, he only recognised Angelina Jolie.

In an interview, he said shortly after he bagged the role following the last round of auditions in London, Harish Patel was summoned to sit for a table reading. As he was eating lunch, he felt a tap on his shoulder, and turned around to see Salma Hayek, but didn’t know who she was.

He said that he was about to leave after his audition, when a production assistant asked if he’d be willing to stick around for the table read. He told them that he wanted lunch, and they assured him that food would be provided. He told Pinkvilla in Hindi, “I was eating, when I felt a tap on my shoulder. ‘Hello’, she said, and I thought that she had a lovely voice. I turned around, and it was Salma Hayek. She congratulated me, I thanked her. I was staring at her, she was so beautiful. I found out later she was Salma Hayek.”

He continued, “I knew Angelina Jolie, but I knew nothing of the others who were working with me. At the table read, on one side was Kumail Nanjiani, and on the other there was Richard Madden. I had no idea he was so popular, on Game of Thrones.”

Harish admitted that he didn’t have a clue about who David Schwimmer was, when they worked together back in the day. Harish appeared in Schwimmer’s directorial debut, Run Fatboy Run, and also shot for an NBC pilot for him, titled Nevermind Nirvana.

Also read: Eternals actor Harish Patel tears up at memories of Shashi Kapoor, slams new generation as ‘badtameez’

Directed by Oscar-winner Chloe Zhao, Eternals also features Gemma Chan, Kit Harinton, Don Lee, and others. The film is slated for a November release.