Manchester-born Jason Patel is one of entertainment’s hottest talents right now. He tells Absolutely about wanting to be Britney, coming out, and his latest film, Unicorns.
Unveiling Unicorns
It’s a minor miracle that Absolutely managed to find some time to chat with Jason Patel. Just a couple of days remain until the release of Unicorns, in which he takes the lead, and the hype is building to a crescendo.
“I feel so ready for this project to be out in the world,” he smiles. “Sometimes it is a waiting game, but all good things come in time. We have all been working ridiculously hard behind the scenes making sure we give this project the best chance possible. And it feels like it’s all coming together in one go because I was just announced as one of the Screen Stars of Tomorrow 2024, which I still can’t quite believe. To be amongst these inspiring individuals who I greatly admire and having them tell me how much they like my work is just phenomenal.”
The Journey to Recognition
The recognition is wholly justified. Unicorns is written and directed by Sally El-Hosaini and James Krishna Floyd and co-stars Ben Hardy (Bohemian Rhapsody). The film’s premiere at TIFF and BFI LFF placed Jason on several best performers lists. He also wrote and performed music for the film.
In Unicorns, Jason plays Ashiq, a Muslim from Manchester who lives a double life in London as flamboyant drag queen Aysha. A chance encounter with mechanic Luke (Ben Hardy) leads to a cross-cultural romance. It’s an oversimplified overview of a film that is required viewing.
“This was a one in a million chance,” Jason says on the role(s). “Most actors do not get the opportunity to play a role like this, and the fact it’s my first major lead role is perfection. I like to be bold in my choices and the projects I get involved with. I want a challenge and something to invest in. This was the film to be a part of for me. I really connected with the character and wanted to give them the love, honesty, and respect they deserved. I am so grateful Sally and James trusted me with this character.”
Behind the Scenes
“There was a lot of research and prep involved in this process,” he continues. “Working with Sally and James, we did extensive page-turners and rehearsals. I treated them as two separate characters and then my goal was to bring them together by the end of the film. I was inspired by a lot of different stories and people I met in my life, and took a lot from myself. It was a giant study of human behaviour and attitudes. Bringing them to life required attention to detail, care, and thoughtfulness.”
Personal Experiences and Growth
Ashiq has to hide his true self in the story, so is that something Jason related to growing up?
“I definitely hid my identity in high school, but slowly grew confident to not care and people actually respected me for it as they couldn’t put their own securities on me,” he says. “There was a point when I came out to my family, and it wasn’t the easiest transition, but overall, I had to build on that support and feed knowledge to them so we could build a strong, healthy relationship.”
“They were always proud and supportive of me,” he adds. “I think they were just scared of how people would treat me in the world, but I remember saying to my mother in a heart-to-heart: ‘Trust that you raised a strong child to fight his own battles.’ From then on, we have all grown together, and my extended family is so supportive and we have a very open line of communication. Our family is super international, so the fact we all support each other from afar is a tremendous testament to not giving up on each other and not taking no for an answer.”
Early Inspirations
Growing up in Manchester, it was clear Jason was destined for a career in entertainment.
“My earliest memories of music at home was watching the likes of Britney, Prince, and Queen paralleled with a lot of Bollywood and traditional Hindu music,” he smiles. “It was a fusion of sounds in my household due to the different generational experiences I was surrounded by.”
“I think I was 5 or 6 when I first got my first keyboard/piano,” he continues. “I saw Elton John play on television, and the teacher play for the assembly. I was so captivated. I begged my parents for a piano at Christmas, and luckily I got one and my passion for the arts spiraled from then on. I was in the nativity when I was in pre-school and from there I knew I was destined to be a performer. I took the role of wise man very seriously! I’d even put on shows for my family at Christmas and different events throughout the year. All these really complemented each other and so singing, acting, and being a musician came really organically to me. My journey as an artist really all happened from the beginning of my childhood.”
Musical Versatility
Jason has written music for Unicorns, and he sees no reason why one discipline should supersede the other.
“Music comes quite naturally to me,” he says. “I set the scene, close my eyes, and let my voice and fingers on the piano keys take me away. I just let go, relax, and have fun. I think we are always searching for answers or trying to just get something out there, so it sometimes can become word vomit, but the writing process is in edits and rewrites and experimenting once you have your initial ideas. I trust my gut instinct and go with the flow. You can’t force art.”
“My musical style is at its core R&B. I had a lot of influence from my time in the USA and fortunately fell in love with how I can bring soul into my sound. I’m an emotional person. Putting that into not only words but sounds was important. I take R&B and fuse in parts of my South Asian culture and my British pop influence and gutsy northern identity and you get something that is confident, sexy, and emotional. It led to my first EP Delicious, which is out now.”
Aspirations
Did he see himself as an actor or a singer when he was younger?
“If I’m totally honest, I wanted to be a pop star. I’d had my sights set on being the next Britney Spears,” he grins. “I still think I still want to be a pop star, but not in the sense where I will only do music – I want to be like Lady Gaga, who has so seamlessly moved between her music and screen work. I’m an artist, and I have a lot to say, but the way I communicate that to the world is expressed in different mediums.”
The world is certainly sitting up and listening to Jason Patel.
Follow Jason on Instagram: @itsjasonpatel.
