SAN MARCOS — A comedic actor known for his role in “The 40-Year-Old Virgin” pleaded not guilty Aug. 13 to a violent assault on his ex-girlfriend in her San Marcos home.

Shelley Mathew Malil, 43, of Sherman Oaks is charged with a single count of attempted murder stemming from the Aug. 10 attack against Kendra Beebe in her home in the 1800 block of Shadetree Drive.

Additional enhancements of premeditated attempted murder, personal use of a deadly weapon, and causing great bodily injury during an incident of domestic violence are also attached to the charge.

If convicted, Malil faces up to life in prison with a minimum parole date of seven years, Deputy District Attorney Steven Carver said after the hearing.

In a courtroom filled with a handful of the actor’s family and friends, Malil stood motionless and seemingly unaffected by the proceedings, which ended with Superior Court Judge Marshall Hockett increasing Malil’s bail to $10 million.

Citing the public’s safety as the court’s No. 1 priority, Hockett said he believed Malil was a “danger to the community and himself.”

During the hearing, Carver had asked that Malil’s bail be increased from $2 million to $4 million, partly because of the actor’s ties to India, his country of birth, and the brutality of the attack.

Beebe, a 35-year-old single mother of two young children, was stabbed more than 20 times during back-to-back attacks that left blood stains throughout her house, the lawyer said. Three of the wounds, deep punctures to each lung and her throat, were life-threatening.

“I think $10 million is quite appropriate,” Carver said outside of the courtroom. “He didn’t stop because he wanted to stop, he stopped only because he was interrupted.”

That crucial interruption came from a neighbor, Charlton Lee, whose actions Carver called “heroic.”

Lee told police he came to Beebe’s aid after she’d yelled out from her front patio for help, according to court documents. As Lee approached, he said he saw the actor pointing the knife near Beebe’s abdomen and moving the weapon near her face and throat. Malil told Lee his ex-girlfriend had tried to stab him, and then the actor laid the knife down and walked away, court documents state.

Prior to Lee’s intervention, another man, David Maldonado, told police he disarmed the actor of a knife after he showed up unannounced and attacked Beebe while they were talking on her back patio, according to court documents. After throwing the knife over a fence, Maldonado called 911, but had to leave the residence to get Beebe’s street address.

Malil turned himself in Aug. 11. He was arrested at the Oceanside Amtrak station after taking a train down from Los Angeles to meet with his lawyer.

By surrendering himself, Malil made a “strong statement” that he has no intentions to flee, his attorney Sean Leslie said.

“I don’t think he’s a flight risk,” the lawyer said.

Malil played a co-worker of Steve Carell’s title character in the film “The 40-Year-Old Virgin. He also stared in a 2001 Super Bowl commercial for Budweiser beer and has had bit parts in dozens of TV shows including “ER” and “Seinfeld.”

In 2005, Malil was convicted of a misdemeanor hit-and-run while driving under the influence of alcohol, Carver said.

In January, a former associate filed a temporary restraining order against Beebe for threatening behavior. However, a Superior Court judge eventually denied the request.

Malil’s preliminary hearing is scheduled for Sept. 30.