Dev Patel cast to portray Pakistani businessman in new TV series

British actor Dev Patel will be playing Pakistani Businessman Arif Naqvi in new TV series The Key Man. Patel will also serve as executive producer on Miramax Television's limited series.

According to Deadline, the series follows the trials and tribulations of the charismatic businessman who was the founder of Dubai-based private-equity firm Abraaj. Employing charm and genius Naqvi swindled some of the world’s elite investors including billionaires, politicians, and religious figures.

Speaking to Digital Spy, director David Lowery explained of his casting:

"I wanted to work with actors I hadn't worked with before; I wanted to work with actors who weren't American [and] I wanted to go abroad to make this movie.”

"I met Dev while he was shooting [The Personal History of] David Copperfield and we just hit it off. I'd written a character who was relatively unlikeable and didn't have much humour to him, and I knew that if I cast Dev he would suddenly become an incredibly beguiling hero, even though he's not very heroic.”

"Once I'd pictured him on that horse in that landscape, I couldn't imagine anyone else playing the part."

The Slumdog Millionaire actor’s last TV stint was four years ago in Prime Video's Modern Love.

Dev Patel began acting by playing Anwar Kharral in the teen drama series Skins. He was nominated for a BAFTA following his breakthrough role of Jamal Malik in Danny Boyle's Slumdog Millionaire. Patel also received a nomination for the Academy Award for depicting Saroo Brierley in the drama Lion.