Dev Patel breaks up fight in Australia in which man was stabbed

British actor Dev Patel broke up a fight in which a man was stabbed in the chest in Australia, his representatives have confirmed.

The actor - who has starred in films including Slumdog Millionaire, Lion and The Green Knight - witnessed the fight between a man and a woman in Adelaide on Monday evening.

Patel's spokesman said the star "acted on his natural instinct" and tried to cool tensions between the feuding pair.

“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,” the actor’s representative said in a statement to Variety.

“Dev acted on his natural instinct to try and de-escalate the situation and break up the fight. The group was thankfully successful in doing so and they remained on site to ensure that the police and eventually the ambulance arrived.”

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Patel's team went on to say there are "no heroes in this situation", adding that the incident highlighted a broader issue of marginalised people not being treated with the "dignity and respect they deserve".

“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,” the statement concluded.

Further details about the motivation of the alleged attacker remain unclear.

South Australia Police confirmed that, following the incident, a 32-year-old man from Glengowrie was treated at the scene by ambulance officers and taken to the Royal Adelaide Hospital.

His injuries are not considered life threatening. A 34-year-old woman from Park Holme was charged with aggravated assault causing harm and was refused bail, the police added.

"The pair are known to each other, and this is not a random incident," a press release noted.

Patel, who came to prominence in British teen drama Skins, lives in Adelaide with his girlfriend, actress Tilda Cobham-Hervey, whom he starred alongside in the 2018 film Hotel Mumbai.