Talking about his newly-obtained role as Zuko in 'The Last Airbender', Dev Patel compares Zuko and Jamal Malik of 'Slumdog Millionaire' and insists that he doesn't 'kick out' Jesse McCartney.
- February 5, 2009
AceShowbiz -
Having been signed to replace Jesse McCartney in "The Last Airbender", Dev Patel sits down with MTV to talk about the project from his role as Zuko to him taking over McCartney's part. "I play a character called Zuko who is the Prince of the Fire Nation," he starts off explaining about his character, "and it's good because it's a dark role."
"I'm not playing the hero, whereas in 'Slumdog' it was real character acting and performance-oriented," the star of "Slumdog Millionaire" then continues, pointing on the difference between Zuko and Jamal Malik. "This is [as well], but it's much more physical, with martial arts. I'm learning on the job, so this is a great new experience for me."
When asked by MTV whether he had "kicked out" McCartney, he is quick to answer, "I didn't. I came on very late, so I didn't hear about the Jesse McCartney thing. In all honesty, I swear." On the occasion, he also reveals that he is very excited to work with "Twilight" actor, Jackson Rathbone, though hasn't met him yet, saying "No, I haven't [met Rathbone yet] because I've been so busy with the press on ['Slumdog']. I'm going to hopefully get down to the training for the martial-arts stuff after this. It's a quick turnaround."
A live-action film version of Nickelodeon's animated series of the same name, "The Last Airbender" reportedly is planned to be the first of a three-picture story arc. Directed, produced and penned by "The Sixth Sense" helmer/writer M. Night Shyamalan, it will see Noah Ringer starring as Aang, Dev Patel as Zuko, Nicola Peltz as Katara, Jackson Rathbone as Sokka and Jessica Jade Andres as Suki. Slated for July 2, 2010 release in the U.S., the production is expected to begin in mid-March in Greenland.
