What is it about Twenty Thousand Leagues, and Jules Verne, that keep on resonating 150 years later?
I suppose there’s a connection to the natural world as well as a fantastical journey. It’s sci-fi, but it’s grounded in reality . . . He was writing so many years before about these incredible inventions [that didn’t yet exist]. He’s just a very insightful and fascinating writer.
How will Nautilus surprise diehard fans of the book and previous films?
Well, I don’t think we’ve seen [Nemo’s] origin story this way. In all those other versions, he’s pretty much a mystery. You don’t know who he is or why he’s reached this point. We’ve got a bit of free reign to tell this story — and it’s a full-on revenge story. Yes, it’s in the vein of a Pirates of the Caribbean; it’s got that kind of fun adventure thing. But in reality, he’s going: “I’m going to get back at the horrible, horrible things that the East India Company did.” They killed his wife and child. So, it’s a very dark heart to this story . . . It’s showing what we haven’t seen before. Why is he so mysterious? When you read Mysterious Island [Verne’s 1874 followup], why is he like this? Why is he so angry? Is he a villain? Is he not? Let’s look into that.
How does your version of Nemo evolve during this epic voyage?
I think he’s got a burning rage inside of him. We’re watching a guy who’s hell-bent on doing anything he can and taking risks and putting people in danger to get what he needs, which is revenge. And I think, by the end, we’re watching someone who learns that you need the people around you and you need to be vulnerable. You have to open yourself up.
It’s not just about giving orders, it’s about becoming a family . . . At first, he finds it very easy to just shout and expect things to be done. Because in his head, it’s like, “I know I’m right. I’m very clever. We might die. By the way, I’ve got a mission I need to do. Just do what I’m bloody telling you.” But I think he learns as it goes on that he can’t treat people that way. He has to compromise and learn to work with a team and explain himself a bit more . . . because he’s so shrouded in secrecy for the first half that no one knows what the hell he’s doing or where he’s from or why he’s doing what he’s doing.
As an actor trying to get into Verne mode, how helpful was it to walk onto that amazing, practical set every day?
Obviously, there’s loads of CGI [throughout the show]. I thought there was going to be more in terms of the sets, but when we had a full-on working submarine on a jib which moved us about, and you could walk from one part of it to the other, and we had the upstairs and the downstairs, it was pretty incredible . . . It does feel like you’re in a submarine. It just puts you in that world for the day.
How does the Nautilus as a ship embody its creator? How are the man and the machine one and the same?
He’s almost binded to it by this emotional core of . . . I mean, he’s got his daughter’s toy, this little nautilus shell, on [the wheel of the vessel]. So, it’s very much a part of him. The front of the ship is a huge, sharp pole that cuts things, which sort of mirrors Nemo’s stubbornness . . . But it also shows his genius; it’s a pretty incredible piece of machinery. So, he’s a mad, stubborn genius, basically [laughs].
Nautilus airs Sunday, July 20, on AMC
MEMORABLE ROLES:
Born and theatrically trained in London, Shazad Latif got his start on stage before popping up in U.K. TV hits like spy thriller Spooks and theatre satire Toast of London. From there, he jumped across the pond as Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde on Penny Dreadful and Starfleet officer/undercover Klingon Ash Tyler on Star Trek: Discovery.
CURRENT GIG:
Nautilus, the latest reimagining of Jules Verne’s 1870 page-turner Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas, finds Latif putting his spin on Captain Nemo, a prisoner who revolts against Britain’s ruthless East India Company. Commandeering the first-of-its-kind submarine he himself designed, Nemo sets sail for adventure . . . and revenge.