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Dev Patel on his 10-year journey to make Monkey Man: ‘Early on, I could never get access to a role like this’

Dev Patel explains his 10-year journey to make 'Monkey Man,' his 'weird little gremlin of a movie' — and how his experience unexpectedly compares to 'Pretty Woman.'

In addition to directing and co-writing, Patel punches, kicks, and bites his way through the film, starring as an anonymous young fighter named “Kid,” who earns cash by donning a monkey mask and getting repeatedly pummeled in an underground fight ring. Patel is a longtime fan of the action genre: As a kid, he obsessed over Bruce Lee movies, and he cites films such as Enter the Dragon as his “gateway into acting.” (He also studied Taekwondo as a child and medaled in international martial arts competitions.) Peele quickly signed on to produce Monkey Man under his (appropriately named) Monkeypaw Productions, and he pushed to get the film a theatrical release through Universal Pictures, arguing that every punch and blood spatter deserved to be seen on the biggest screen possible.

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