Dev Patel has not gone easy on himself with his directorial debut, Monkey Man. The film - which he directs, co-wrote, and stars in - is based on his own original story idea. Set in India, the film sees Patel thrown into a brutal, breathless world of near non-stop action, as his protagonist, ‘Kid’, seeks revenge against the corrupt powers that destroyed his childhood.
Given the intensity of the stunt work and fight choreography, it’s the kind of undertaking that would feel like an immense challenge as an actor *or* a director, let alone for someone pulling double duty on their debut as a filmmaker. Speaking to the Inside Total Film podcast and GamesRadar+, Patel jokingly puts it down to a “masochistic streak” on his part, driven as he was for a different kind of representation as an actor, and taking matters into his own (bloodied, bruised) hands.
