Chloé Zhao: I Couldn’t Imagine an Actor for Shakespeare in Hamnet
According to CinemaDrame News Agency, Oscar-winning Nomadland director Chloé Zhao revealed in a recent interview with Rolling Stone that she initially hesitated to direct Hamnet because she couldn’t picture an actor who could embody William Shakespeare.
She said: “I was like, ‘I can’t think of anyone who could play Shakespeare and bring that level of archetypal power.’ Then my agents called me and said, ‘There’s an actor named Paul Mescal who’d like to meet you.’ I Googled him. I saw his face. I thought, ‘Interesting.’”
Hamnet, starring Paul Mescal and Jessie Buckley, tells the story of Agnes in 1580s England—the wife of the world’s most famous playwright, William Shakespeare—who grieves the loss of their only son, Hamnet. As the Black Plague spreads, a young Latin tutor falls in love with a mysterious woman. Agnes is portrayed as a rebellious figure, known for her extraordinary gift of healing. Once she begins married life on Henley Street in Stratford, she becomes a supportive mother and a steadfast presence in her young husband’s life, until their son’s sudden fever alters his path in London’s theaters. The cast also includes Joe Alwyn, Emily Watson, Jack Shalloo, David Wilmot, and Jacobi Jupe.
Mescal, who has received positive reviews for his performance in Hamnet, told Rolling Stone in another part of the interview that, to prepare for his role as Paul McCartney, he read John & Paul: A Love Story in Songs by Ian Leslie and learned to play guitar left-handed, just like McCartney.
Hamnet will open in limited release on November 27 and expand widely on December 12.
