At SXSW, Dev Patel explains how a broken hand couldn't stop him from filming 'Monkey Man'

Caleb Yum, Austin American-Statesman
·2 min read

Dev Patel put his body on the line in the making of his directorial debut "Monkey Man."

And when we say that yes, we do mean that in the literal sense. The action movie produced by Jordan Peele, which premiered at South by Southwest 2024, has been deemed by some as "South Asian John Wick." It involved plenty of intense scenes that required training and fighting that didn't always go as planned.

Take, for instance, a few weeks before shooting, when Patel suffered his first setback.

Director Dev Patel walks the red carpet ahead of the premiere of Monkey Man at the Paramount Theater in Austin, Texas on the fourth day of South by Southwest on Monday, March 11, 2024.
Director Dev Patel walks the red carpet ahead of the premiere of Monkey Man at the Paramount Theater in Austin, Texas on the fourth day of South by Southwest on Monday, March 11, 2024.

"A stunt man stamped on my foot and broke it. So that was a bit of a problem. But we got through that and carried on," Patel said on the red carpet before the premiere.

The action star's tough luck continued, as he tore his shoulder. Then, fellow cast member Sikander Kher broke Patel's hand while shooting a bathroom fight scene.

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It was the most complicated injury that Patel had to deal with while shooting. He couldn't film the rest of the movie while wearing a cast, so he knew he had to figure out another way to deal with it.

"I got on a plane after filming the rest of the scene. He put a screw in the hand and the doctor said 'that you cannot put any weight on it or anything,' " Patel said. "And then we carried on shooting."

"We had to change all of the choreo to like one handed moves, which was very difficult. But it was a real process of voracity and just trying to try to find a way to get it down."

Even knowing that Patel was down to one hand at certain points of the flick, it was hard for us to notice with how well-designed the choreography was.

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When is Monkey Man being released in 2024?

Producer Jordan Peele walks the red carpet ahead of the premiere of Monkey Man at the Paramount Theater in Austin, Texas on the fourth day of South by Southwest on Monday, March 11, 2024.
Producer Jordan Peele walks the red carpet ahead of the premiere of Monkey Man at the Paramount Theater in Austin, Texas on the fourth day of South by Southwest on Monday, March 11, 2024.

The film features a host of brutal, R-rated violence that left the audience gasping on occasion. Despite the action being the main feature, Patel told a full story and even made us laugh with humor that always seemed to land at the right time.

The movie directed and starring Patel and produced by Peele has a release date of April 5, 2024.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Dev Patel talks overcoming injury during 'Monkey Man' premiere at SXSW

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