INTERVIEW: SHAZAD LATIF talks about his role in ‘Star Trek: Discovery’ | CROOKES MAGAZINE
After starring in ‘Spooks’ & ‘Penny Dreadful’, Shazad is back on TV trekking across the universe in Star Trek: Discovery
Interview by Adam Crookes
Did you audition for ‘Star Trek: Discovery’? Can you recall the day?
Yes. I had to send a self-tape. I did it in my kitchen which doubles as my self tape studio with a 17 year old flickering kitchen light which you have to hit to stop flickering. I did it with my mum who has become my scene partner for most of my audition tapes. She is very good actually when I tell her to take it down a notch. She could be in a Ken Loach or Mike Leigh movie.
I sent it off then had to do a seven way skype audition from London. Luckily I didn’t have to fly out to LA for a day which I have done before which is tiring and gets the legs all tight from a long flight.
Were you a ‘Star Trek’ fan previously?
I wasn’t a super fan but it was always on BBC 2 after Fresh Prince or the Simpsons. So Patrick Stewart’s head was always in the living room growing up. I’m now a fan and I’m sure my grandad and my uncle Bernard who is a big fan would and will be happy.
What project that you’ve been a part of would you say has helped prepare you the most for your ‘Star Trek’ role?
I don’t know if any other role has prepped me for this role as this has its own specificities. But I’m sure as I make my way from project to project I’m picking up things which benefit me and make my next job easier.
You have a role in ‘The Commuter’. It has a great cast, what has it been like working with them?
Yeah, The Commuter has a great cast, from big guns like Liam Neeson and Vera Farmiga and Sam Neil — but it also has so many great rising stars and one of my best friends is in it. A beautiful actor named Kingsley Ben-Adir. I got to work with Florence Pugh who is a joy and a wonderful actress and a lovely human being — as is Ella Rae Smith, Adam Nagaitis and Letitia Wright who are all on it, and many more. Good casting. All so unique — keep an eye on all of them.
Star Trek: Discovery airs on CBS All Access in the US and Netflix in the UK.
Read the full interview at AdamCrookes.com
