Why Amanda From Love Wedding Repeat Looks So Familiar
Netflix has made a name as a purveyor of romantic comedies, with titles like To All the Boys I've Loved Before injecting life into a genre many thought had peaked. The streamer also recently delved into the "reliving the same events over again" thing popularized by the movie Groundhog Day with Russian Doll. So, why not combine the two? That's Love Wedding Repeat, a British rom-com that takes two runs, separated by a few vagaries of fate, of the same wedding. Stars are crossed and love dies and blooms as a cast of quirky characters discover that the difference between a true connection and a miss can be razor-thin.
While many of the faces in Love Wedding Repeat will look familiar, especially if you're acquainted with British television, there's one that'll particularly jump out if you're a movie fan: Freida Pinto, who plays Amanda. A guest at the wedding and the ex of the bride's brother Jack (Sam Claflin), she's involved in a problematic relationship with Chaz (Allan Mustafa), who has issues of his own to work out having to do with certain parts of his anatomy we won't name here for decency's sake.
We'll leave what part Amanda plays in the proceedings up to you to discover, but as for Pinto's familiarity, it all starts with Who Wants to Be a Millionaire.
Freida Pinto's model beginnings
Freida Pinto was born into a middle-class upbringing in Mumbai, India. Inspired by a viewing of the Charlize Theron drama Monster, she decided to pursue acting, but started out by signing with Elite Model Management upon her graduation from college. Her efforts bore fruit early on, leading to her appearance in campaigns for brands such as Wrigley's, eBay, and DeBeers.
During this time, Pinto began auditioning for film and television, landing her first gig in 2006 as the host of the international travel show Full Circle. While the job would take her to far-flung locations like Fiji and Thailand, it failed to generate momentum for her acting career; many of her early auditions — including for the part of Camille Montes in the James Bond movie Quantum of Solace – proved unsuccessful. The perseverance Pinto developed during this time would serve her well, however, as she embarked on the casting process for the film that would make her name known all over the world.
One in a (Slumdog) Millionaire
In 2007, director Danny Boyle's casting agent solicited from Pinto's modeling agency seven individuals to audition for his new film, Slumdog Millionaire. After a grueling audition process that lasted a full six months, she managed to win the role of Latika, the love interest of the film's protagonist and the motivation for his appearance on the then-runaway hit game show, Who Wants to Be a Millionaire. While the character was divided among different actresses due to the time-hopping nature of the film, Pinto's place as the ultimate end of Patel's character's quest put her front and center in the minds of viewers — and quite a few viewers, there were.
Slumdog Millionaire became a global phenomenon, notching $378 million worldwide and cleaning up during awards season, claiming 10 Academy Award nominations and winning eight, including Best Picture. While Pinto was shut out of that roster, her performance did draw accolades, including a nomination for a Best Supporting Actress BAFTA and wins in Best Breakthrough Performance from the Palm Springs International Film Festival and as part of the ensemble that took Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture at the SAG Awards. It was a huge breakthrough for the actress, opening doors of opportunity in Hollywood and beyond.
Freida Pinto on the path less taken
Since Slumdog Millionaire, Pinto has bounced between studio projects and more arthouse fare. Her next couple of films would exemplify this pattern. First, she was cast in the low-key, if star-studded, dramedy You Will Meet a Tall, Dark Stranger from writer-director Woody Allen. Then, Pinto appeared in the big-budget franchise reboot Rise of the Planet of the Apes, which remains her most financially fruitful effort to-date, taking in over $481 million globally.
Pinto continued this dichotomous trend through the next several years, dividing time between work with film festival darlings like Michael Winterbottom (Trishna) and Terrence Malick (Knight of Cups) and studio efforts like 2011's The Immortals. She also drew attention for her appearance in the video for the Bruno Mars song "Gorilla," but not all of it was positive; the Indian press were unamused with the clip's sexual overtones, including Pinto's performance on a stripper pole. Still, she would flip the script on her detractors, following up on that effort as the narrator for Girl Rising, a documentary promoting access to education for girls across the globe.
Pinto's career shows no sign of slowing down, either — whether it's on TV, where she starred on the British miniseries Guerilla, or on the big screen, where she'll next appear in Ron Howard's Hillbilly Elegy. With names like that behind her and a penchant for making interesting choices, Freida Pinto's future appears fairly secure — barring any Love Wedding Repeat-esque twists of fate.