Actor Shazad Latif has a long history of playing characters at war with themselves. He portrayed the most archetypal example of internal conflict, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, on Penny Dreadful; a Klingon sleeper agent on Star Trek: Discovery; and will soon be playing an Indian Prince who takes the name Nemo as he embarks on a quest for vengeance in Nautilus, a reimagining of Jules Verne’s Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea premiering on AMC and AMC Plus on June 29.
“Maybe it’s because I had a traumatic childhood,” Latif told Polygon over Zoom with a laugh. “I think it’s easy for me to mirror. I’m half English-Scottish, half Pakistani. I’ve always sort of been on the peripherals in both worlds, but also very much involved in them. That feeling of being an outsider always lets me connect to these kinds of characters that have a dual feeling about them. They always seem to be fairly angry, [and] my dad was very angry, so I can tap into that.”
While the emotions may come easy, keeping track of the plots can be a challenge. That was especially true in Star Trek: Discovery, where Latif played the Klingon spy Voq, the seemingly human security chief Ash Tyler, and Voq’s counterpart in the Mirror Universe.
“It was a lot to get your head around,” Latif said. “You’re like, ‘Wait, am I doing another version? Is he speaking Klingon? Is he speaking English? What’s going on?’ But it was great to play a sleeper agent who gets amnesia and PTSD. There was so much in that first season to explore. I’ll never forget that whole journey in space that I had.”
Having starred in one of the most popular science fiction franchises and two shows set in fantastical versions of the 19th century, Latif is eager to explore even more genres. Next year he’ll appear alongside Margot Robbie in an adaptation of Emily Brontë Gothic tragedy Wuthering Heights.
“I’m a big self-proclaimed movie nerd,” he said. “I love everything. I love comedy. I love romantic comedy. I love dramas. I love family dramas. I love period pieces. I want to do it all. I want to do everything I can do.”