Arti Shah is bringing the iconic character of Paddington the Bear to the stage in West End’s Paddington the Musical.
Following the show’s opening night on November 30, Life & Style breaks down everything to know about Shah.
Who Is Arti Shah?
According to Shah’s website, she is “an accomplished actress and motivational speaker with over a decade of experience in the entertainment industry.”
Shah has made a name for herself in “creature performance” and has brought “life to countless fantastical beings through her work with prosthetics, movement reference and motion capture.”
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Arti Shah Was Born With Pseudoachondroplasia
Shah stands at only 4 feet tall and was born with a condition called pseudoachondroplasia. According to the Cleveland Clinic, “pseudoachondroplasia is a type of dwarfism caused by a genetic mutation. The condition causes short stature, short arms and legs, skeletal abnormalities, joint laxity and joint pain.” Additionally, the condition doesn’t affect “facial features, head size, intelligence or lifespan.”
What Acting Roles Has Arti Shah Played?
Shah has acted in many memorable projects over the course of her career. Some of her iconic roles include Rocket Raccoon in Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 1, a goblin in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2, a female alien in Attack the Block and the goblin singer in Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them.
Arti Shah Is Currently Playing Paddington the Bear on the West End
After she worked on the 2024 film Paddington in Peru, Shah was cast as the titular character in West End’s production of Paddington the Musical.
Shah previously told Variety that she was familiar with the character even before she got the role. “Being 7 or 8 years old and watching Paddington on TV after school with my older brother, that is my first memory,” she told the outlet. “And then obviously, we have the films in 2014. And when my young son was born, he was gifted the Paddington books by his aunt. So we were reading them to him as well, and we’ve loved the films as a family.”
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She also opened up about what it’s like to perform in the bear suit. “It keeps me nice and warm. I take my job very seriously, and before we started rehearsals I sat in a sauna fully clothed every day for a week, just to mentally prepare myself,” she said. “The mind is a powerful tool.”
“I wear a lot of padding and then the lovely suit, which makes me stand in a certain way and brings the physicality to life. But I also touch on a form of Method acting, drawing on my own emotions because it’s not just about being the bear, you have to show the emotions,” Shah added.
