The Business (KCRW)
Riz Ahmed on Bringing 'Hamlet' Into the Modern World
Why It Matters
The conversation highlights how classic works can be reshaped to reflect today’s cultural diversity and social tensions, offering audiences fresh perspectives on timeless stories. For creators and viewers alike, Ahmed’s insights underscore the power of representation and the importance of authentic storytelling in an industry still grappling with inclusion.
Key Takeaways
- •Modern Hamlet reimagines Danish royalty as wealthy South Asian family
- •Ahmed discusses outsider experience shaping his artistic choices and activism
- •Bait explores imposter syndrome and self‑critical drive in acting
- •Industry debates Paramount‑Warner merger and its political implications
- •Ahmed emphasizes Shakespeare’s emotional core over academic analysis
Pulse Analysis
Riz Ahmed’s upcoming film re‑imagines Shakespeare’s Hamlet for a contemporary British audience, swapping the Danish court for a wealthy South Asian family. The decade‑long development reflects a push for diverse storytelling, positioning the tormented prince as a second‑generation immigrant grappling with family expectations and cultural identity. By anchoring the tragedy in modern class and diaspora dynamics, the project offers fresh relevance to a classic text while highlighting the under‑representation of South Asian narratives in mainstream cinema. Ahmed’s own outsider experience, first noted by a high school teacher, fuels his commitment to bring these perspectives to the screen.
The Amazon series Bait gives Ahmed a vehicle to examine the relentless inner critic that haunts many high‑achieving performers. His character, an aspiring actor chasing a fictional James Bond role, wrestles with imposter syndrome, parental pressure, and the immigrant drive to prove oneself. Ahmed describes the self‑critical voice as both motivator and self‑sabotage, likening it to a horse driven by carrots and whips. This candid portrayal resonates with broader conversations about mental health in the entertainment industry, especially for children of immigrants who balance cultural expectations with personal ambition.
Meanwhile, the broader Hollywood landscape is in flux. The proposed Paramount‑Warner merger has sparked a celebrity‑led petition, drawing attention to concerns over media consolidation, foreign investment from Saudi interests, and potential editorial shifts at CNN. Simultaneously, Disney’s recent layoffs in marketing and television underscore the financial pressures of streaming, AI‑driven ad sales, and the challenge of sustaining a high‑output film slate. Ahmed’s projects—both the Hamlet adaptation and Bait—illustrate how talent can navigate these uncertainties by championing inclusive narratives and authentic storytelling, positioning themselves as resilient amid industry upheaval.
Episode Description
This week, Kim Masters speaks with Riz Ahmed about his modern retelling of Hamlet. The actor and producer discusses the decade-long journey of adapting the Shakespeare classic and how the project evolved from a planned Netflix streaming release to securing theatrical distribution with Focus Features. He also jokes about family members misinterpreting the significance of his Oscar-nominated performance in Sound of Metal and traces the origins of the “Riz Test,” a Bechdel-adjacent measure of Muslim representation in storytelling.
Plus, as theater owners and studio executives share their views on the Paramount–Warner Bros. deal at CinemaCon, thousands of industry professionals—including Ben Stiller, Kristen Stewart, and J.J. Abrams—have signed a petition to block the merger. Kim Masters and Matt Belloni examine Hollywood’s opposition and consider whether the growing outcry will have any real influence as the company seeks approval from regulators and shareholders.
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