Riz Ahmed on bringing 'Hamlet' into the modern world

Riz Ahmed on bringing 'Hamlet' into the modern world

From The Business by KCRW

April 17, 2026 · 30 min

About this episode

Riz Ahmed discusses his modern adaptation of Hamlet and the challenges of bringing it to theatrical release.

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.

People in this episode

Host: Kim Masters

Guest: Riz Ahmed

Topics covered

  • modern retelling
  • Hamlet
  • film adaptation
  • Muslim representation
  • Hollywood mergers
  • theatrical distribution

Keywords

  • Riz Ahmed
  • Hamlet
  • Sound of Metal
  • Muslim representation
  • CinemaCon
  • Hollywood mergers
  • Focus Features

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Focus Features, Paramount, Warner Bros.

Books & works: Hamlet, Sound of Metal

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