Shazad Latif Is Glad To Be One Of The First South Asian Actors Playing Captain Nemo

Shazad Latif is playing historied storybook character Captain Nemo in Nautilus, airing on Amazon Prime. Nautilus provides the origin story for Jules Verne’s 19th century seafarer/Indian Prince, who spends his days fighting imperialism from his submarine. It’s a fantastical swashbuckling drama with a hint of serious commentary on British empire; the show is set in the 18th century and the primary antagonist is the East India Company. Set to be released on Friday 25 October, the show almost never aired: Disney, its original distributor, dropped it after filming. Shazad Latif (What’s Love Got To Do With It, Spooks) sat down to tell us about the new series. 

Shazad Latif Interview

How’s life? 

I’m good. We’re in the middle of press for Nautilus right now, a bit for Magpie too. It’s good that they’re finally coming out. 

There was some question of that at one point, right – when Disney dropped Nautilus? Were you ever worried about the future of the project? 

No, I trusted in what we’d done. You can’t get caught in the business affairs; it was great when it got picked up by AMC and Prime – I knew it would get picked up in some form. 

Ok, tell us about the show – what’s the elevator pitch? 

It’s about an Indian prince, a submarine, but at the heart of it, it’s a revenge story. It’s got swashbuckling, it’s got action. 

It deals with the East India Company, which is a very serious historical thing at the heart of it. 

And it’s a pretty dark origin story about a famous fictional character, Captain Nemo. His background story is never really given in the books in detail. It’s sort of based on The Mysterious Island which was the second book of the series that Jules Verne wrote. 

And who is Captain Nemo? 

He’s a stubborn, brilliant leader. He’s a prince, who went to a very English school, so he has a bit of the people he hates in him, and he’s hellbent on revenge against the East India Company [an early 18th century English trading corporation]. And he’s a bit of a madman – who shouts at people. A lot. 

How did you prep for the role? Lots of vocal exercises then? 

Always vocal exercises if you’re screaming all day. I had a lot of time to prepare because I found out I’d been cast in the role a good six or seven months before filming began. I read the book, took what I could – there’s so much description of him from the narrator – and then worked on the voice. Went into the woods to go crazy to figure out the voice… And then looked into the history of the show. 

It’s a serious history, too – exploring the British empire. How do you bring this story forward to 21st century viewers (who also might not know much about it)?

The East India Company is very prevalent through the story; the show cuts between our story on the ship and those guys. It’s brilliantly played by the actors. We try to bring elements of comedy and lightness in both sides of the story. But at the heart of it, Captain Nemo and his crew are trying to fight the world’s first corporation – who in real life did some really horrible, evil things. 

We don’t really talk about that in school. I definitely didn’t cover it when I went. I remember looking into Mussolini in history class. But never this! We should know it. It’s our country that did it. I think the show deals with the history in a way that’s fun but takes it seriously. 

I mean it’s certainly striking that in the history of the character, a lot of the actors who played Captain Nemo are white, despite him being explicitly an Indian prince. 

I mean, that’s the way it’s been in the movie industry since it began. The guy in A League of Extraordinary Gentlemen –  Naseeruddin Shah – was, I think, the first brown actor to play Captain Nemo. 

And I’m glad to be one of the first South Asian actors to play him. It’s definitely time to deal with his actual origin as an Indian prince. But I’m still in esteemed company – James Mason, Michael Caine, Patrick Stewart. I do love them. 

So, beyond being a gentleman and a prince… He’s a swashbuckler. Was that physically demanding? 

Extremely. This was a 210 day shoot, which is on the upper ends of the longest shoots there. Weekends off, but every day otherwise. Lots of action scenes, different stunts, sword fights, it was so physically demanding. It does get you in a good routine, though, you have to try to stay fit and healthy.  

Did you work with a trainer? 

Yes. I’d try to do half an hour after work or half an hour before work. I tried to eat healthily, but there were some good snacks on the set. By the end, you’re just eating quesadillas and drinking a diet coke. 

Captain Nemo is a stylish guy. Did you get to influence how he dressed? 

I talked to costume at the start; they give you a big selection, you say what you like and don’t, and together try to work around that. He is very stylish. There’s a green velvet in the later episodes that’s really good. 

And was much of the shoot done on set or on location? 

A lot in Brisbane on the Gold Coast. The whole of episode four was on location. And then a lot on these amazing sets – there’s a lot less CGI than you would think. Mostly it’s built sets. 

I particularly loved filming in Tambourine Mountain on the Gold Coast, which was particularly cool. There’s a tropical rainforest there, and we also shot on the beaches. 

And you’re also in the soon to be released Magpie with Daisy Ridley – was that very different? 

So different. I got back for Christmas for Nautilus and then went straight into a four week shoot for Magpie – so very different timescales, which was a bit of a relief. Magpie is a family drama about a couple who hate each other, have a daughter who is a child actor, and my character tries to have an affair with an Italian actress. Sam Yates has done an amazing job and it’s his first feature; it was a bit of a theatre style process when it came to prep.

What’s been your favourite project to date? 

I loved worked on a film called Profile by director Timur Bekmambetov – it was all on Skype and Zoom, and we shot it over nine days with so much improv and collaboration. We were able to write some scenes for it. And then Toast of London was a lot of fun. Plus What’s Love Got To Do With It. Lily James is a good friend of mine, it was nice to go into work with a mate every day. 

And what’s next after this? 

I’ve got a big thing but I can’t talk about it yet – there might be an announcement soon. I’m very excited. But outside of that, I’m trying to heal my fingers! I got a bent finger playing football at a stag on the beach. And my back is aching – a little physical rehab at the moment. 

Shazad Latif’s Recommendations…

I just finished watching… Nobody Wants This – which I really enjoyed. And Colin From Accounts. That’s my favourite show at the moment. 

I’m currently reading… If I said, I’d be giving you a clue as to my announcement. But I am reading something at the moment. 

The film I last loved was… The Substance. And Blink Twice.

My cultural guilty pleasure is… Always Below Deck. I still go back to it. And Love Is Blind – the American one. 

My favourite song of all time… Tracy Chapman ‘Crossroads’. But there’s different moods for different songs. At the moment it’s ‘Crossroads’ though. 

Shazad Latif as Captain Nemo © Nautilus courtesy of Amazon Prime

Everything We Know About Nautilus So Far

What Is Nautilus About?

Nautilus provides the origin story of Captain Nemo, based on the books by Jules Verne. Captain Nemo is an Indian prince whose wife and children have been murdered, and his birthright has been stolen, by the East India Company. He is joined by a ragtag crew as he steals a prototype submarine and escapes into the Indian Ocean, intent on getting revenge against the East India Mercantile Company.

The Cast Of Nautilus

• Shazad Latif as Captain Nemo
• Georgia Flood as Humility Lucas
• Thierry Frémont as Gustave Benoit
• Pacharo Mzembe as Boniface
• Arlo Green as Turan
• Tyrone Ngatai as Kai
• Ling Cooper Tang as Suyin
• Richard E Grant as the leader of Karajaan
• Andrew Shaw as Jiacomo
• Chum Ehelepola as Jagadish
• Ashan Kumar as Ranbir
• Céline Menville as Loti
• Cameron Cuffe as Captain Pitt
• Kayden Price as Blaster
• Damien Garvey as Director Crawley
• Muki Zubis as Casamir
• Benedict Hardie as Cuff
• Adolphus Waylee as Absalom Boston
• Jacob Collins-Levy as Captain Youngblood
• Luke Arnold as Captain Billy Millais

When & Where Can I Watch It?

The series releases on Amazon Prime on Friday 25 October.

Why Was Nautilus Dropped By Disney+?

According to the Guardian, the show was dropped by Disney for cost-cutting purposes. The Guardian says: ‘the series was in production for most of 2022. […] Nautilus was dropped as part of cost-cutting at the Hollywood studio, which plans to trim $US3bn from its non-sports programming, which includes taking between $US1.5bn to $US1.8bn in tax writedown.’ Removing the series, it claims, allowed the studio to reduce its value on Disney’s books, reducing tax burden.

Watch Shazad Latif as Captain Nemo in Nautilus, airing on Amazon Prime on 25 October 2024, amazon.co.uk