Dev Patel has been an interesting actor to watch as he always brings an earnestness to his performances that is hard to convey. Along with his breakout performance in Slumdog Millionaire, the actor received enormous praise and accolades for his dramatic range in films like Lion, Hotel Mumbai, The Green Knight, and in his recent directorial debut film Monkey Man.
One of his most infamous films was 2010’s The Last Airbender which was a live-action adaptation of the beloved Nickelodeon animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender. The film was Patel’s first big-budget studio film but the actor struggled to find his footing on set and felt out of place within the studio system.
Studio Heads Were Not Happy With Dev Patel’s Performance On The Last Airbender
M. Night Shyamalan directed the live-action adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender in 2010. The film starred Noah Ringer, Dev Patel, Nicola Peltz, Jackson Rathbone, Shaun Toub, Aasif Mandvi, and Cliff Curtis. Patel was fresh off the historic success of Slumdog Millionaire and getting to do a big studio film seemed like the perfect next project for him.
Patel played firebender Prince Zuko who is exiled by his father Fire Lord Ozai. Patel was attracted to the project due to the big names that were involved, including director Shyamalan and producer Frank Marshall. However, the transition from a small-budget feature to a tentpole studio film felt alienating to him and he struggled to find his voice in the film.
In an interview with GamesRadar, the Monkey Man star revealed that he started feeling miscast in his role and couldn’t relate to him (describing himself as adrift at sea). The actor showed no confidence while performing and the studio was worried about his underwhelming work in the film. Patel said,
You’ve got M. Night and Frank Marshall and all these big names. I’m a big martial arts fan, so I was like, ‘Oh, wow.’ I was probably miscast, and the film didn’t hit the mark. I could see that the studio was worried that I wasn’t really performing well. It was quite a torturous experience in that sense where you know you’ve maybe possibly been miscast in something, and you’re not right for it, and I didn’t have any confidence…
Ultimately the film turned out to be an absolute dud, with fans of the animated series finding it extremely subpar. The Last Airbender earned of the lowest ratings on Rotten Tomatoes (5%) and is considered one of the worst films ever made. It also underperformed (grossing only $319 million against a $150 million budget via Box Office Mojo) at the box office and all plans for a trilogy were canceled.
Dev Patel Avoided Studio Franchise Films After The Failure Of The Last Airbender
Dev Patel had one of his worst filming experiences in 2010’s The Last Airbender. He has been vocal about how he does not fit into the studio system and has since not starred in any tentpole or franchise films. In an interview with The New York Times, the actor revealed that his agents get frustrated when he turns down offers to star in big franchises.
The Slumdog Millionaire star reasoned out by stating that he fears not being able to fit into that world just like what happened with The Last Airbender. Patel admits that he is unable to flourish as an actor under all the green screens and VFX filmmaking. He said,
Maybe it’s a fear of how I would fit into that world. I didn’t really flourish in that position. I take my hat off to all those incredible actors that do Marvel movies where it’s, like, big, noisy fans and green screen and tennis balls and whatnot.
The actor also called The Last Airbender one of the worst films he’s ever done and one he wants to forget. Patel has mostly starred in dramas and recently made his directorial debut with the fantastic action film Monkey Man.
Fans can watch The Last Airbender on Prime Video.
