Former EastEnders actor Himesh Patel has landed a leading role in the reboot of The X Files.

The-35-year-old star, who first got his big break working on the BBC soap as a teenager, played Tamwar Masood in Albert Square.

However, he couldn't be any further from his roots as he has been cast in Ryan Coogler's reboot pilot of The X Files.

The project was picked up by US streaming giant Hulu last month.

Himesh will star alongside BAFTA-nominated actress Danielle Deadwyler, where they will play two 'vastly different' FBI agents.

A logline for the reboot, seen by Variety, reads: 'Two highly decorated but vastly different FBI agents (Deadwyler, Patel) form an unlikely bond when they are assigned to a long-shuttered division devoted to cases involving unexplained phenomena.' 

The publication also reports both stars will be playing entirely new characters, rather than iterations of Fox Mulder and Dr. Dana Scully.

David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson played the fan-favourite roles across 11 series.  

Danielle, 43, has a raft of prestigious nominations, including for her work as Mamie Till-Mobley in the film Till.

Notably, she was up for the Best Actress in a Leading Role gong at the 2023 BAFTA Film and TV awards.

Himesh and Danielle has previously worked together, starring in miniseries Station Eleven in 2021.

His portrayal of town doctor and devoted family man Jeevan Chaudhary earned Himesh an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actor In A Limited Or Anthology Series Or Movie in 2022.

He left EastEnders in 2016 when his character ran off with then girlfriend Nancy Carter.

Two years later, he earned worldwide fame by bagging the lead role in what became his breakthrough film Yesterday.

In 2024, Himesh said experiencing acne while working on EastEnders as a teenager 'felt like the worst thing in the world'. 

Opening up to British GQ Hype, the actor lifted the lid on his stellar career so far, including the years it began on EastEnders.

He told the magazine: 'I've been doing this since I was 16, When you're a teenager and you have acne, it's the worst thing in the world. 

'But then when you've got acne in front of millions of people every week in EastEnders, it's a whole other thing.

'It was rough. You just kind of feel defective because you're surrounded by actors. Everyone gets spots, but I just felt the pressure.' 

Back in 2019, EastEnders fans were left gobsmacked after spotting Himesh Patel in Don't Look Up alongside Hollywood stars Leonardo DiCaprio and Meryl Streep.

Netflix's disaster comedy movie sees two low-level astronomers - Dr. Randall Mindy (Leonardo DiCaprio) and Kate Dibiasky (Jennifer Lawrence) - go on a media tour to warn mankind of a comet that will destroy Earth.

In addition to DiCaprio and Lawrence, the film stars Meryl Streep, Jonah Hill, Cate Blanchett, Kid Cudi, Tyler Perry, Ariana Grande and Timothee Chalamet.

But EastEnders fans were left surprised after spotting a familiar face from Albert Square among the star-studded cast in the science fiction film.

Himesh had a small role as Phillip, a journalist and the boyfriend of Jennifer's character Kate, in the blockbuster movie.