Riz Ahmed stars in ‘Hamlet’. Photo: Focus Features.
In theaters on April 10 is ‘Hamlet’, a fresh update of William Shakespeare’s famous tragedy, which features Riz Ahmed (‘Sound of Metal’), who plays a version of the troubled Dane, here the heir to an elite South Asian empire in modern-day London.
(L to R) Morfydd Clark and Riz Ahmed in ‘Hamlet’. Photo: Focus Features.
If you’re going to tackle a Shakespeare play on film –– particularly the complex web of family tragedy that is ‘Hamlet’ — be prepared for challenges. But with this present-day version, director Aneil Karia and writer Michael Lesslie bring a fierce energy to their effort.
Script and Direction
(L to R) Riz Ahmed and Timothy Spall in ‘Hamlet’. Photo: Focus Features.
Shakespeare is not easy to adapt, and Lesslie here sticks to the traditional language for the most part (while still needing to cut plenty to avoid an overlong running time). But the changes and substitutions (London for Denmark and the use of Indian culture) truly work well.
Karia, meanwhile brings real panache and style, making the world feel relevant and also, in places, timely.
Cast and Performances
(Far Left) Riz Ahmed stars in ‘Hamlet’. Photo: Focus Features.
It’s really Ahmed’s show, and he chews on one of the trickiest parts in drama. Sequences such as the “To be or not to be” soliloquy give him something to truly work with.
Which isn’t to dismiss an impressive supporting cast, especially Art Malik as scheming uncle Claudius and Morfydd Clark, who brings humanity to the relatively smaller role of Ophelia.
Final Thoughts
(L to R) Art Malik and Joe Alwyn in ‘Hamlet’. Photo: Focus Features.
Even if you’ve dismissed Shakespeare as impenetrable, the new ‘Hamlet’ shows what can happen in sure hands, the emotion on full display. Purists may balk at the changes, but this is a worthwhile adaptation.
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Riz Ahmed stars in ‘Hamlet’.
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Riz Ahmed about his work on ‘Hamlet’, taking on the iconic role, shooting the “To be or not to be” speech, and why Shakespeare’s work is so timeless and universal.
You can watch the full interview below or click on the video player above to watch our interview.
Riz Ahmed stars in ‘Hamlet’. Photo: Focus Features.
Moviefone: To begin with, can you talk about the challenges of playing the iconic role of Hamlet, and is it a role that you’ve always wanted to play?
Riz Ahmed: I’ve wanted to play this since I was 17 and I was in English class feeling like this is some stuffy, boring museum artifact, and that Shakespeare is not for me. I had an amazing English teacher who put it in front of me and made me realize, “Wow, this is pretty close to how I’m feeling.” The central feeling, I would say for Hamlet is, “Is the world going crazy or have I lost my mind?” I think that’s how we’re all feeling. That’s how I was feeling then, and it’s how I’m feeling now, and dare I say, it’s how most of the world feels now. So, I wanted to play it because it was very relatable. I think that’s the challenge and the gift of taking on something like ‘Hamlet’, a role like this, is it’s been done so many times. I think the challenge is, what is specific and personal about your interpretation? That’s also a gift. It’s been done so many times, there’s no illusion that someone’s going to perform a definitive Hamlet. You’re liberated in a way to just do something as uniquely specific and personal to you and your experience as possible. So, it’s a strange combination of feeling like, “We’re going to step into these big old shoes that don’t belong to us.” While at the same time going, “Well, actually we get to run around in these shoes however we want.”
(L to R) Morfydd Clark and Riz Ahmed in ‘Hamlet’. Photo: Focus Features.
MF: Shakespeare’s work is universal and can be adapted to any time-period or culture. What is it about his work that you think has made it stand the test of time?
RA: I think it’s a couple of things. Firstly, a lot of the stories are drawn from myths that are not British, that are ancient. The first words you hear in our Hamlet are words from the Bhagavad Gita, which is the foundational Hindu myth. That’s because that story is very similar to the story of ‘Hamlet’. It predates ‘Hamlet’ by thousands of years. This idea of choosing family loyalty or doing the right thing, that’s a timeless theme. So, I think that’s one reason why it can cross barriers of culture. It belongs to myth that belongs to all of us. The second reason is because it’s like music. The logical understanding of every word was not something that even audiences were doing in Shakespeare’s time when it comes to these plays. Shakespeare made up like 4,000 new words. They didn’t understand half of what he was saying, but it’s music. It’s rhythm, its flow, its percussion, its energy, and it’s intention. If you hear it like music, it moves you like music and music crosses all boundaries.
(Far Left) Riz Ahmed stars in ‘Hamlet’. Photo: Focus Features.
MF: Finally, I’ve never seen the ‘To be or not to be” speech depicted the way you did it, with the character in a car speeding towards oncoming traffic. Can you talk about shooting that scene and how that added urgency to the speech?
RA: Absolutely. Our interpretation of “To be or not to be” is that it’s not about, “Should I kill myself or not?” Which is how it’s usually performed, right? It’s a much more urgent, confronting question. The question is, “Should we fight back against injustice, even if it means we might die?” That’s a contemporary, radical question. Then if you look at the language itself rather than looking at the traditional way it’s performed, that’s what it’s saying. So, we had to stage it in a way and have that confrontation and that urgency. If the speech is a game of chicken, we’re going to stage it like a game of chicken. So, he is literally doing that. He’s driving down a freeway, heading towards a lorry a hundred miles an hour, asking himself, does he have the guts to take on something bigger than himself? So, we staged it that way in a way. We’re just trying to honor the DNA of this speech rather than honoring the traditional way it’s done. We really tried to make something that’s for people who feel like Shakespeare isn’t normally for them and hopefully it gives them a visceral experience.
‘Hamlet’ opens in theaters on April 10th.
What is the plot of ‘Hamlet’?
Haunted by his father’s ghost (Avijit Dutt), Prince Hamlet (Riz Ahmed) descends from elite London society into the city’s underground, moving between Hindu temples and homeless camps. In seeking to avenge his father’s murder, he begins to question his own role in his family’s corruption.
Kenneth Branagh is an Oscar-winning Writer, director, producer, and actor.
The filmmaker first made a name for himself in the 80’s and 90’s for his big screen adaptions of William Shakespeare plays like ‘Henry V,’ ‘Much Ado About Nothing‘ and ‘Hamlet,’ which he also starred in.
After several Academy Award nominations over the course of his career, Branagh finally won an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for his very personal 2021 film ‘Belfast.’
In honor of ‘A Haunting in Venice’s release, Moviefone is counting down every movie Kenneth Branagh has ever directed.
Ferdia Shaw in ‘Artemis Fowl.’ Photo: Nicola Dove / Disney.
Artemis Fowl (Ferdia Shaw) is a 12-year-old genius and descendant of a long line of criminal masterminds. He soon finds himself in an epic battle against a race of powerful underground fairies who may be behind his father’s (Colin Farrell) disappearance.
Out of work actor Joe (Michael Maloney) volunteers to help try and save his sister’s local church for the community by putting on a Christmas production of Hamlet, somewhat against the advice of his agent Margaretta (Joan Collins). As the cast he assembles are still available even at Christmas and are prepared to do it on a ‘profit sharing’ basis (that is, they may not get paid anything) he cannot expect – and does not get – the cream of the cream. But although they all bring their own problems and foibles along, something bigger starts to emerge in the perhaps aptly named village of Hope.
During World War I, in an unnamed country, a soldier named Tamino (Joseph Kaiser) is sent by the Queen of the Night to rescue her daughter Pamina (Amy Carson) from the clutches of the supposedly evil Sarastro (René Pape). But all is not as it seems.
London, June 29th, 1613. The Globe Theater, ran by the famous playwright William Shakespeare (Branagh), accidentally burns to ashes. Seriously affected, he stops writing and returns to his hometown, where his wife Anne (Judi Dench) and daughters Judith (Kathryn Wilder) and Susanna (Lydia Wilson) get surprised to hear he intends to stay there definitively, after two decades working in the capital, neglecting his sincere affections for them.
After inheriting a large country estate from his late father, Peter (Stephen Fry) invites his friends from college: married couple Roger (Hugh Laurie) and Mary (Imelda Staunton), the lonely Maggie (Emma Thompson), fashionable Sarah (Alphonsia Emmanuel), and writer Andrew (Branagh), who brings his American TV star wife, Carol (Rita Rudner). Sarah’s new boyfriend, Brian (Tony Slattery), also attends. It has been 10 years since college, and they find their lives are very different.
Celebrated sleuth Hercule Poirot (Branagh), now retired and living in self-imposed exile in Venice, reluctantly attends a Halloween séance at a decaying, haunted palazzo. When one of the guests is murdered, the detective is thrust into a sinister world of shadows and secrets.
The King of Navarre (Alessandro Nivola) and his three companions swear a very public oath to study together and to renounce women for three years. Their honour is immediately put to the test by the arrival of the Princess of France (Alicia Silverstone) and her three lovely companions. It’s love at first sight for all concerned followed by the men’s hopeless efforts to disguise their feelings.
Witty, playful and utterly magical, the story is a compelling romantic adventure in which Rosalind (Bryce Dallas Howard) and Orlando’s (David Oyelowo) celebrated courtship is played out against a backdrop of political rivalry, banishment and exile in the Forest of Arden – set in 19th-century Japan.
Based on Mary Shelley’s novel, “Frankenstein” tells the story of Victor Frankenstein (Branagh), a promising young doctor who, devastated by the death of his mother during childbirth, becomes obsessed with bringing the dead back to life. His experiments lead to the creation of a monster (Robert De Niro), which Frankenstein has put together with the remains of corpses. It’s not long before Frankenstein regrets his actions.
Chris Pine plays the young Jack Ryan, cruising the downtown streets of Manhattan for ‘Jack Ryan: Shadow Recruit,’ from Paramount Pictures. Photo credit: David Lee.
Jack Ryan (Chris Pine), as a young covert CIA analyst, uncovers a Russian plot to crash the U.S. economy with a terrorist attack.
In this Shakespearean farce, Hero (Kate Beckinsale) and her groom-to-be, Claudio (Robert Sean Leonard), team up with Claudio’s commanding officer, Don Pedro (Denzel Washington), the week before their wedding to hatch a matchmaking scheme. Their targets are sharp-witted duo Benedick (Branagh) and Beatrice (Emma Thompson) — a tough task indeed, considering their corresponding distaste for love and each other. Meanwhile, meddling Don John (Keanu Reeves) plots to ruin the wedding.
When her father unexpectedly passes away, young Ella (Lily James) finds herself at the mercy of her cruel stepmother (Cate Blanchett) and her daughters. Never one to give up hope, Ella’s fortunes begin to change after meeting a dashing stranger (Richard Madden) in the woods.
Hamlet (Branagh), Prince of Denmark, returns home to find his father (Brian Blessed) murdered and his mother (Julie Christie) now marrying the murderer… his uncle (Derek Jacobi). Meanwhile, war is brewing.
Chris Hemsworth in ‘Thor.’ Photo: Paramount Pictures.
Against his father Odin’s (Anthony Hopkins) will, The Mighty Thor (Chris Hemsworth) – a powerful but arrogant warrior god – recklessly reignites an ancient war. Thor is cast down to Earth and forced to live among humans as punishment. Once here, Thor learns what it takes to be a true hero when the most dangerous villain of his world sends the darkest forces of Asgard to invade Earth.
In 1949 composer Roman Strauss (Branagh) is executed for the vicious murder of his wife Margaret (Emma Thompson) with a pair of scissors. In 1990s Los Angeles a mute amnesiac woman (also Thompson) shows up at an orphanage and private eye Mike Church (also Branagh) is called in to investigate. Under hypnosis both the woman and Church seem to have a strange link back to the Strauss murder.
(L to R) Caitriona Balfe, Jamie Dornan, Judi Dench, Jude Hill, and Lewis McAskie in ‘Belfast,’ directed by Kenneth Branagh
Written and directed by Branagh, ‘Belfast’ is a poignant story of love, laughter and loss in one boy’s (Jude Hill) childhood, amid the music and social tumult of the late 1960s.
What if “Hamlet” were told from the viewpoint of Ophelia? That’s the premise of “Ophelia,” starring Daisy Ridley (nearly unrecognizable in a long red wig) as the classic Shakespearean character.
In the first trailer, we see her trying to get Hamlet (George MacKay) to flee the castle after his father’s murder, worrying that she’ll be forced to marry another, and then being dramatically dragged out of the court.
Naomi Watts, who plays Hamlet’s mother, Queen Gertrude, has previously said that, although Ophelia goes stark-raving mad in the play, she’s far from a damsel in distress in this film. “If [a woman’s mind] is powerful, it must be madness. And now there’s this shift that’s taking place, and that’s reflected in this storytelling.”
Claire McCarthy (“Skin”) directs this new adaptation, which costars Clive Owen as murderous Claudius and Tom Felton as Ophelia’s brother, Laertes.
The trailer includes key scenes from any “Hamlet “production, including Ophelia in the water, the bloody aftermath of the final showdown, but with the focus on Ophelia, this film promises to be quite different.
The opens in limited release on June 28, followed by a digital and On Demand release on July 3.
The “Night Of” Emmy winner is in talks with Netflix for the streaming service to buy a contemporary retelling of “Hamlet,” a project he’s been developing with screenwriter friend Mike Lesslie (“Macbeth,” “Assassin’s Creed”).
Ahmed would star as Hamlet, which he revealed last year is his dream role:
The story is set in modern-day London, in a time of economic and political uncertainty, and explores the intersecting themes of familial honor, moral duty and dynastic corruption
Ahmed, heavily involved in activism, has been looking to bring more diversity and social impact to his projects. Last month, he became the first man of South Asian descent and only the second Asian actor to win an Emmy.
He’s become a hot commodity, appearing in “Rogue One,” turning in an Emmy-nominated guest performance in “Girls,” and getting cast in the Spider-Man offshoot “Venom.”
Want to see Tom Hiddleston onstage as Hamlet? The odds are not in your favor. The “Kong: Skull Island” star will take the stage as the melancholy Prince this fall in a production directed by Kenneth Branagh, but tickets will be scarce.
The production will only run for three weeks at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art’s Jerwood Vanbrugh theatre, a London venue that only seats 160, The Independent reports. (That’s actually one of RADA‘s largest venue, which can hold up to 183 people, depending on the stage configuration.)
To get those tickets you have to first register for a ticket lottery, which closes Sunday, August 6. And even winners of that lottery can only buy two tickets, max. The play runs from September 1-23.
Hiddleston is a former RADA student, and told the Independent, “Kenneth Branagh and I have long talked about working on the play together and now felt like the right time, at the right place.” Branagh directed the first “Thor” movie, in which we first met Hiddleston as Loki.
Hiddleston will likely be back stateside to promote “Thor: Ragnarok,” which opens November 3.
Hard as it is to believe, the original “Lethal Weapon” turns 30 this year. Well, maybe not that hard when you take a gander at Mel Gibson’s mullet…
But even after all these decades, Detectives Riggs and Murtaugh are anything but too old for this s***. To celebrate this milestone, join us as we explore some interesting facts you might not know about this classic buddy-cop action movie. 1. Mel Gibson can thank Riggs for landing him the juicy lead role in 1990’s “Hamlet.” Director Franco Zeffirelli was impressed by Gibson’s acting in the scene where Riggs considers committing suicide.
2. Most aspiring filmmakers have to work for years to get a foothold into the industry, but writer Shane Black wrote the “Lethal Weapon” screenplay shortly after graduating from UCLA and almost immediately caught the eye of producer Joel Silver. Some guys have all the luck…3. For all that his character complained about being “too old for this s***,” Danny Glover was only 40-years-old when “Lethal Weapon” was filmed. No wonder Murtaugh didn’t actually wind up retiring until 1997’s “Lethal Weapon 4.”
4. It’s just as well Glover was still a spring chicken, as he and Gibson had to go through some pretty intense physical training for their roles. Both actors spent months training and studied martial arts forms like Capoeira, Brazilian jiu-jitsu. and something called “Jailhouse Rock.”5. “Star Trek” icon Leonard Nimoy was approached to direct “Lethal Weapon,” but he was apparently turned off by the film’s violence. Instead, Nimoy went on to direct the hit comedy “Three Men and a Baby.”
6. We very nearly lived in a world where Bruce Willis played Detective Riggs and Mel Gibson was the face of the “Die Hard” franchise. Willis turned down the part of Riggs to star in “Die Hard,” while Gibson turned down the part of John McClane to star in “Lethal Weapon.”
7. Willis was hardly the only one to turn down the part of Riggs. Other candidates included Jeff Goldblum, Christopher Reeve, Patrick Swayze, Pierce Brosnan, and Michael Douglas.8. During the course of the movie, Murtaugh tells Riggs a story about surviving a battle in Ia Drang Valley during the Vietnam War. Funnily enough, Mel Gibson would eventually go on to star in 2002’s “We Were Soldiers,” which depicts that particular battle (above). 9. The film once featured completely different opening and ending scenes. Originally, the movie ended with Riggs and Murtaugh bidding farewell rather than Riggs showing up for Christmas dinner at the Murtaugh household.
10. Riggs is very good at cheating death. An earlier draft of the script had Riggs dying at the end, and Black also contemplated killing off the character in 1989’s “Lethal Weapon 2.”11. While we’ll probably never see a “Lethal Weapon 5,” now that the franchise has been rebooted for TV, Shane Black apparently did write a story for a new sequel. In an interview with Nerdist’s The Writer’s Panel podcast, Black revealed that he co-wrote a 62-page treatment that would reunite the iconic cops in what the filmmaker thought would make for a “very good movie.”
“It was essentially an older Riggs and Murtagh in New York City during the worst blizzard in east coast history, fighting a team of expert Blackwater guys from Afghanistan that’s smuggling antiquities,” Black said. “And we had a young character that actually counter-pointed them.”
So why did the movie not happen? “I didn’t wanna do what people do when they’re trying to transition which is, they sorta put the two older guys in the movie, but really it’s about their son!” Black said. “And he’s gonna take over and we’re gonna do a spinoff. F**k that, if they’re gonna be in the movie, they’re gonna be in the movie — I don’t care how old they are.”
To thine own self be true, 
Want to see 
Hard as it is to believe, the original “
1. Mel Gibson can thank Riggs for landing him the juicy lead role in 1990’s “
3. For all that his character complained about being “too old for this s***,” 
5. “Star Trek” icon 
8. During the course of the movie, Murtaugh tells Riggs a story about surviving a battle in Ia Drang Valley during the Vietnam War. Funnily enough, Mel Gibson would eventually go on to star in 2002’s “
9. The film once featured completely different opening and ending scenes. Originally, the movie ended with Riggs and Murtaugh bidding farewell rather than Riggs showing up for Christmas dinner at the Murtaugh household.
11. While we’ll probably never see a “Lethal Weapon 5,” now that the franchise has been rebooted for TV, Shane Black apparently did write a story for a new sequel. In an interview with Nerdist’s The Writer’s Panel podcast, Black revealed that he co-wrote a 62-page treatment that would reunite the iconic cops in what the filmmaker thought would make for a “very good movie.”