Dev Patel is best known as an actor for his sensitive and soulful portrayal of a variety of characters. After breaking out in Brit TV sensation Skins, he’s appeared in the likes of Slumdog Millionaire, Chappie, Lion, and The Green Knight.
But with Monkey Man, he turns writer and director (while, yes, still also starring), in a full-on action revenge thriller that pulls no punches. Set in India, it follows ‘Kid’ (Patel) on a path of vengeance, out to right wrongs from his own past, and dispensing justice to his city’s corrupt ruling elite.
It’s no small challenge for a first-time filmmaker who’s also giving it his all in the extremely physical leading role. Via the Inside Total Film podcast and 12DOVE, Patel explains how he found it when it came to directing himself.
“It’s really difficult,” he says. “I’m not the most technical actor. It has to sit inside me, the character. And once I find it, I can exist in that. You know, I had never really embodied a performance with so much rage… My hat’s off to these amazing action actors, because it’s difficult. You can’t play it safe in that genre. You either look strange doing it, or it works because you have to fully commit 110% to those moves. It kind of can feel like the most hammy thing in the world, but you have to go in with absolute conviction.”
Jordan Peele produces Monkey Man, and before he became a director of renown, behind modern horror greats like Get Out and Nope, he was best known as a comedy performer. So, why do so many actors end up making that transition to directing? “You know, actors get a real front seat to directing,” explains Peele. “In the case of Dev and Monkey Man, it’s quite clear that this is somebody, though it’s his first film, it doesn’t feel like his first film. And part of the reason is, he’s been working with some of the best directors on the planet, and knows that process that one has to have with an actor and their crew.”
Not that any actor can just make the leap, however. “You’ve got to be a certain actor that’s watching, from the very beginning, every single part of the process, the entire way,” adds Peele. “So, that’s clearly what he’s done.”
Monkey Man is in UK and US theaters now. For more from Patel and Peele, check out the latest episode of the Inside Total Film podcast that’s out now.
