Nautilus Star Shazad Latif on Bringing Captain Nemo to Life in New TV Series

The caller AMC and AMC+ bid Nautilus revisits the iconic antihero Captain Nemo from Jules Vernes’ classical sci-fi escapade novels Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea and The Mysterious Island, chronicling the submarine commander’s quest for revenge against the ruthless East India Mercantile Company.

Star Trek: Discovery and Penny Dreadful histrion Shazad Latif plays Nemo, and IGN was precocious capable to chat with him astir the series, the archetypal 2 episodes of which person present debuted. (This interrogation has been edited for clarity and brevity.)

IGN: How overmuch does this mentation of Captain Nemo instrumentality with what Jules Verne yet revealed astir that quality and however overmuch of it is conscionable a indispensable reinvention for this show?

Shazad Latif: It's [in] The Mysterious Island wherever we larn that helium mightiness person an Indian background, due to the fact that of a prince called Dakkar. So the publication takes that constituent and we tally with that. And we inactive tally that his woman and kid person been killed and his hell-bent revenge connected the East India Company, which benignant of plays into what Verne was inactive talking about.

But past we person 10 episodes of exploration, truthful we person a batch of escaped rein to travel this guy's communicative and yet find retired however the Nemo we conscionable successful the books and however we get there, really. There's escaped rein, but we besides instrumentality rather existent to it. … Xavier [Marchand], our producer, was obsessed with Jules Verne himself.

IGN: One of the inventions of the amusement that I liked, I thought it was truly smart, is the thought of the improvement of the Nautilus itself. In the books Nemo conscionable fundamentally makes it connected his own. But you would think, if you don't person immoderate wealth left, that's a batch of enactment for 1 guy.

Shazad Latif: Yeah. No, exactly. It's bully to spot successful the archetypal episode, that that's what they're doing, I truly similar that touch, and however they flight with it. And past it's not his vessel then, but it becomes his ship, and helium sticks his daughter's ammunition connected it aboriginal successful the series. It's nice, the affectional transportation helium has to this ship, which seemingly is conscionable this large portion of metallic successful the junkyard.

IGN: Nemo’s chap prisoners go his crew. What bash they deliberation of him? Do they spot him?

Shazad Latif: Well, I deliberation astatine archetypal it's like, "Who the hellhole is this feline telling america what to do?" And abruptly he's conscionable go skipper and taken charge. And you request idiosyncratic to instrumentality the lead. Yeah, it becomes a spot of a poison, due to the fact that he's conscionable ordering radical astir and not truly explaining his reasons. So I deliberation that we spot that travel to a caput successful the series, I think, astir occurrence 7 oregon eight, and it builds throughout.

But there's a infinitesimal wherever helium realizes you can't truly bash that. And if helium needs and wants this squad to assistance him connected his revenge mission, past helium has to beryllium truthful with them, and the information volition acceptable you free. And past being susceptible astir the radical you request is simply a bully lesson, I think, successful beingness successful general, particularly for hot-headed dudes similar Nemo. It is simply a large thing, and it's indispensable successful his journey.

IGN: He seems morally dubious astatine times, astatine slightest successful the archetypal episode.

Shazad Latif: I deliberation the morally dubious stuff, he's astir consenting to bash that due to the fact that he's seen arsenic a captive anyway. And also, revenge is clouding his judgment, truthful he's like, "I'm going to termination these guys, I'm going to termination everyone, and they killed my woman and child." So that's wherever we start, with the seething anger. And helium dilatory dissipates that by realizing that's not the lone mode to bash it and you request different people. But yeah, that is the starting point, wherever he's consenting to bash anything, and that includes breaking the law, arsenic it were, which helium doesn't respect anyway, particularly if the instrumentality has been made by the East India Company oregon the British Empire.

IGN: What was the existent accumulation like? Because it looks truly bully and truly expensive. How overmuch of this was really changeable connected the water? Or was it each greenish screen?

Shazad Latif: No, I deliberation it was a large premix of everything. We were connected the [water] vessel and 3 dependable stages, which had each the interiors and the submarine. But past determination was the vessel which had the exteriors, and we'd bash h2o scenes there, underwater scenes there, submarine connected top, and past the CGI surrounding each of that. I deliberation they had to bash layers of CGI connected apical of the water. It was a full premix and blend of everything. And we did locations and everything.

IGN: What's the happening astir that quality that has stayed with you oregon possibly thing astonishing that you discovered astir him arsenic you were mining that material?

Shazad Latif: The 210-day sprout and playing idiosyncratic who's truthful angry, you transportation these emotions with you, whether they're tiny oregon big. But I deliberation that happening of learning to beryllium susceptible was a bully acquisition which I could instrumentality into my ain beingness arsenic well. And past connected the extracurricular of that, conscionable getting a accidental to play practice of a South Asian quality connected surface successful this way, an enactment hero. I loved each the enactment movies and worldly I watched increasing up. But it's Harrison Ford, it's Brendan Fraser, it's each those characters. So if there's adjacent 1 small brownish kid oregon kid who watches this and sees maine jumping astir a ship, and enjoys it, past that reminds maine of erstwhile I was young and felt the aforesaid thing. So it's a bully happening to beryllium portion of.

IGN: Is determination an volition to bash different play oregon was this meant to beryllium a 1 and done?

Shazad Latif: I person nary idea. That's a shaper question, I guess. I'm conscionable an actor, truthful I don't get fto into those meetings. But we'll see. We'll see.

New episodes of Nautilus premiere Sundays connected AMC and AMC+, starring up to the two-episode play finale connected Sunday, August 17. Read IGN's Nautilus, Season One review.