PODCAST: Scott puts "Slumdog" star Dev Patel back in the hot seat!

In 2007, director Danny Boyle ("Trainspotting," "28 Days Later") went to Mumbai to find an actor to play the central character in his next film, "Slumdog Millionaire," a Dickensian story of a boy who emerges from the slums of India and captures the attention of the nation.

What Boyle found, though, was a Bollywood film industry dominated by extremely muscular actors, a trend he had not expected. According to the director, many of the actors with whom he met were immensely talented, but he felt he couldn't use any of them for the eponymous role of Jamal because "this guy's an ordinary Joe, he's an everyman, he's a man like any of us -- he's for all of us, really."

As a result, Boyle -- the man who had previously discovered numerous fine actors like Ewan McGregor, Kelly Macdonald and Cillian Murphy -- returned to London without a star and without a plan. That's when fate stepped in. Boyle's 17-year-old daughter, aware of his problem, suggested that he check out the actor who played a minor comedic character on the British television series "Skins," who appeared to be Indian. Boyle was intrigued, made some inquiries, and learned that he was a 17-year-old English-born actor of Indian descent named Dev Patel. Patel was contacted, called in for several auditions, and cast in the part. The rest, as they say, is history.

(Interesting side note: Boyle may not have cast a "ripped" actor from India, but the skinny one from England who he did select is every bit as capable of kicking butt, as you can see for yourself here, here, here, and here!)

The finished cut of "Slumdog Millionaire" premiered to deafening acclaim at September's Toronto International Film Festival, just days after a slightly different version was greeted similarly at Telluride and prompted awards manufacturer Fox Searchlight to pick up the film's distribution rights. Since that time, the film has been discussed as a likely Best Picture nominee by all three of the Envelope's awards analysts -- Pete Hammond, Tom O'Neil, and myself, as well as numerous other critics/pundits like Roger Ebert (Chicago Sun-Times), Jeff Wells (Hollywood-Elsewhere.com), David Poland (The Hot Button), Ed Douglas (ComingSoon.net), Peter Travers (Rolling Stone), Terry Stanley (The Hollywood Reporter), and Kris Tapley (InContention.com). Academy members and the public will have a chance to make assessments of their own in just over a month when the film is released nationwide Nov. 12.

In the meantime, you can learn a great deal about "Slumdog Millionaire" and star Dev Patel, a potential nominee himself, by clicking below to listen in on the exclusive chat I had with Patel on Thursday...

CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO SCOTT'S INTERVIEW WITH DEV PATEL!

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Photo: "Slumdog Millionaire," courtesy Fox Searchlight Pictures.