"There are no heroes in this situation."
Dev Patel and his friends broke up a knife fight outside a convenience store in Adelaide, Australia, a representative for the Oscar-nominated actor has confirmed.
According to Australian outlet 7News, a man and a woman were fighting on August 1 when the man was stabbed in the chest. He is expected to survive.
In a statement to the entertainment website Variety on August 2, Dev Patel’s representative said:
“We can confirm that last night, in Adelaide, Dev Patel and his friends witnessed a violent altercation that was already in progress outside of a convenience store.”
Dev, known for films such as Slumdog Millionaire and The Green Knight, acted on his instinct “to try and de-escalate the situation” and break up the fight, added the representative.
The statement read: “The group was thankfully successful in doing so and they remained on site to ensure that the police and eventually the ambulance arrived.”
Fans praised the actor on social media for intervening in a “risky” situation.
“Risking his life for a total stranger. That’s my boy,” a user said on Twitter. “Hope everyone involved is okay now,” said another.
However, Dev Patel’s team emphasised that “there are no heroes in this situation and sadly this specific incident highlights a larger systemic issue of marginalised members of society not being treated with the dignity and respect they deserve.”
English actor Dev Patel has witnessed a stabbing in Adelaide's CBD which left a man hospitalised.
The Slumdog Millionaire and Lion actor was questioned by police after the incident on Gouger Street last night. pic.twitter.com/nnsTZuvwrS
— 10 News First Adelaide (@10NewsFirstAdl) August 2, 2022
The statement concluded: “The hope is that the same level of media attention this story is receiving (solely because Dev, as a famous person, was involved) can be a catalyst for lawmakers to be compassionate in determining long-term solutions to help not only the individuals who were involved but the community at large.”
Further details about the situation and the motivation of the alleged attacker have not been made clear.
Dev Patel got his big break in British teen drama Skins and has also starred in The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and Lion, for which he received an Oscar nomination.
The actor has been on a break since his lead role in David Lowery’s The Green Knight in 2021.
His Netflix-backed directorial debut Monkey Man has been filmed and is currently in the post-production phase.
He will also star in Wes Anderson’s The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar, opposite Benedict Cumberbatch and Ralph Fiennes.
First published in 1977, The Wonderful Story of Henry Sugar and Six More is a collection of seven short stories written by British author Roald Dahl for older children.
The Slumdog Millionaire actor is also set to star in Chippendales alongside Seth Rogan and Elle Fanning.
The story follows Steve Bannerjee, played by Dev Patel, and sees an Indian immigrant’s rise and fall in America as he sets up a strip club.
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