2 weeks ago
In Riz Ahmed‘s Prime Video show Bait, he plays Shah Latif, a struggling character who accidentally goes viral arsenic nan suspected caller James Bond. As Shah tries to negociate nan reactions of his family and friends, nan show takes him connected a odyssey done some London and his ain psyche.
“He’s ever trying to execute a type of himself that’ll beryllium much accepted, desired, validated, I felt for illustration that sometimes, not conscionable arsenic an actor, but arsenic a quality being,” Ahmed said during an question and reply astatine nan Deadline Studio astatine Prime Experience. “I deliberation that that’s a emotion we tin each subordinate to. We’re each performing this nationalist type of ourselves connected societal media aliases connected Zoom aliases connected LinkedIn aliases immoderate it is, moreover erstwhile we meet strangers. But really we are each truthful overmuch much messy, chaotic, and susceptible than that.”
Ahmed was joined connected nan sheet by executive shaper Allie Moore, Ahmed’s co-showrunner Ben Karlin, head Bassam Tariq and euphony supervisor Ciara Elwis. Check retired nan speech successful nan video beneath and scroll down for photos from nan event.
As Shah finds himself facing his ain disorder and battles for self-worth and identity, Ahmed said he had kept successful mind thing a friend had erstwhile said: “He told maine that nan region betwixt your nationalist and backstage aforesaid is nan magnitude of shame that you carry. He’s nary longer my friend anymore because that was excessively existent for me,” he deadpanned, “but I wanted to make a drama wrong that playground of shame. The only measurement done shame is laughter, I think. And it’s for illustration I wanted to conscionable put it each retired location astir really sometimes I consciousness for illustration an imposter. I deliberation we each do. And truthful James Bond successful this show is simply a benignant of awesome of what you wish you were and everything that really you’re not.”
Moore added, “We talked a batch astir successful nan early days of nan show that it was astir nan costs of occurrence and a characteristic hasn’t moreover had nan occurrence he wants yet and still nan costs of that, and really that plays retired wrong your ain family and friend groups and individual relationships. So I deliberation it was tackling things wrong nan intermezo industry, but besides going a measurement further, looking astatine really we’re each complicit successful nan desire for occurrence and ambition.”
In summation to co-showrunner duties, Karlin (Modern Family, The Colbert Report) besides serves arsenic executive shaper and writer connected nan show.
“I didn’t cognize Riz personally,” Karlin said, “I conscionable knew him from his work. But evidently erstwhile I was presented pinch nan opportunity to activity pinch him, I jumped astatine it. He had a ton of ideas and it was conscionable for illustration an workout successful harnessing this madcap energy. And it was really, really nosy talking astir these ideas and these themes, but having this characteristic that we knew was going to beryllium capable to bring humanity to it all… A feline who typically wouldn’t get a chance to play Bond is up for Bond and really do group react? I deliberation there’s for illustration a first-level guidance to that benignant of story.”
Riz Ahmed
Anthony Avellano for Deadline
Bassam Tariq
Anthony Avellano for Deadline
Ben Karlin
Anthony Avellano for Deadline
Allie Moore
Anthony Avellano for Deadline
Ciara Elwis
Anthony Avellano for Deadline
Ahmed besides emphasized nan worth of nan show’s music, giving in installments to euphony supervisor Ciara Elwis, who said, “I deliberation successful section 4, we person everything from UK grime to car shed to ’70s Pakistani people euphony each successful 1 episode. And it’s that thought of life doesn’t return spot successful 1 genre, it takes spot successful tons of different genres. And that section specifically takes spot connected Brick Lane [in London]. You tin spell to Brick Lane immoderate nighttime of nan week and you’ll perceive each that music. So it’s that point of truth being alien than fiction.”
Ahmed noted that head Bassam Tariq brought a valuable position to nan show, fixed that he’s not from London.
Tariq said, “There’s thing astir Shah that’s really larger than life. I deliberation what we wanted to do is we wanted to make judge that we framed everything really wide successful nan beginning. So galore things are ever competing successful his world, truthful really do we conscionable ever show it coming in?”
He besides focused successful connected nan vibrancy of nan metropolis and its people. “I deliberation nan group are really beautiful,” he said. “I deliberation that’s nan 1 point that we wanted to make judge that each nan colors are alive. From nan costumes that we had from our costume designer, Jodi-Simone [Howe] and conscionable making judge that each nan colors are there. So I deliberation we made judge that we were ne'er conscionable stuck successful nan accustomed grays that I deliberation we ideate London to be.”
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