Description
During his toast, Himesh Patel spoke about how many of the people in the room “hold power and influence.”
“In these precarious times, I believe it’s imperative for each of us to think about where we hold it, and how we use it to do good in the world,” Patel said.
Patel went on to talk about his own story. He grew up in a village in Cambridgeshire, England, where his parents ran a corner shop, and he delivered newspapers. When he landed his first acting gig at the age of 16, he continued, his parents “made sure” that he kept up his paper route each day.
“As immigrants who built everything they had with their own hands, they know that nothing is certain except the fact that nothing is certain,” Patel said of his parents. He said that his story feels “unlikely because it’s sometimes been hard to believe I ever belong in rooms like this.”
Patel observed that when TIME was founded in 1923, his ancestors were living in a village in Gujarat, India, where they “were still subjects of colonialism.”
“103 years later, here I am, standing amongst you. I have those ancestors to thank,” he said. “Because they resisted their oppressors, they fought for their independence. In the face of fear, they chose to hope. Because my parents crossed oceans, defied the odds to build a new life in an unknown land. In the face of uncertainty, they chose to hope.”
Patel called hope “an act of defiance,” and ended his remarks by encouraging everyone in the room to “choose to hope.”
“All of us here are being told that we hold power and influence,” Patel said. “I’m using mine, standing here amongst all you incredible people to say: in these precarious times, in the face of fear and uncertainty—I choose to hope. Maybe you will too. Because imagine the power and the influence that act could hold.”
Read more: https://time.com/collection/time100-next-gala/2026/toasts-highlights/
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0:00 Himesh Patel on Power, Influence and Responsibility
0:20 Himesh Patel's Unlikely Journey to Acting Success
0:41 Landing His First Acting Role on EastEnders at 16
1:02 Himesh Patel on Inclusivity and Minority Representation
1:31 Reflecting on His Family's History in Colonial India
2:06 How His Immigrant Parents Inspired Him
2:18 Why Hope Is an Act of Defiance
2:52 Himesh Patel's Powerful Message at TIME100 Next