Rogue One’s Riz Ahmed to bring Hamlet to Netflix
Riz Ahmed (Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, The Night Of) is in negotiations to bring his version of Hamlet to Netflix, according to Deadline. Ahmed, who won an Emmy for his role in HBO’s The Night Of, will play the titular role in this adaptation of William Shakespeare’s famous play. This Hamlet will be a contemporary adaptation that Ahmed developed with writer Mike Lesslie.
Ahmed’s version of Hamlet is “set in a modern-day London of economic and political uncertainty, the story follows the intersecting themes of familial honor, moral duty and dynastic corruption.” Jim Wilson will produce and Netflix will finance and distribute.
Back in August of last year, Ahmed was asked about his dream role. He tweeted that it was Hamlet. You can see his tweet below.
Hamlet. Obvious I know, but I love the play.. #AskRiz https://t.co/8prxpwPTu4
— Riz Ahmed (@rizmc) August 29, 2016
The role has been played in film by Sir Laurence Olivier in the 1948 film, which he also directed. In 1969, the role was played by Nicol Williamson in the first color film version of the story, directed by Tony Richardson. The 1990 film, directed by Franco Zeffirelli, starred Mel Gibson as the title character, with Glenn Close as Gertrude, Alan Bates as Claudius and Helena Bonham Carter as Ophelia. In 1996 Kenneth Branagh adapted, directed and starred in a version of Hamlet which kept almost every word of Shakespeare’s play, running around four hours long. In 2000 Michael Almereyda did a version of the story set in modern Manhattan starring Ethan Hawke.
Ahmed is known for his work in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, in which he played Bodhi Rook, and The Night Of for HBO, in which he played Nasir Khan, for which he won the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie, becoming the first Asian and the first Muslim to win that category.
Are you guys interested in watching Riz Ahmed play the lead role in Hamlet? Let us know in the comments.
