Riz Ahmed in Talks for Netflix Adaptation of Hamlet

Riz Ahmed has had quite a renaissance as of late, winning an Emmy for his turn in The Night Of, appearing in the Star Wars spin-off Rogue One and set to be part of the cast of Sony’s blockbuster Venom. Now, the multi-talented British-Pakistani actor, rapper and activist is in talks for the titular role in Netflix’s planned adaptation of Hamlet.

Per Deadline this version of Hamlet will be in contemporary London, coming from writer Mike Lesslie (who adapted Macbeth and knew Ahmed in college) and producer Jim Wilson (Under the Skin Attack the Block).

Ahmed has long been an advocate for representation in media, giving a widely-circulated speech on diversity earlier this year (seen below). With his Emmy win, Ahmed became the first actor of South Asian descent to win the award.

Ahmed can next be seen in The Sister Brother, alongside his Nightcrawler co-star Jake Gyllenhaal and Joaquin Phoenix.