Pakistani Actor Humayun Saeed on Making His Netflix Debut on ‘The Crown’: ‘It was Overwhelming To Say the Least’

If you hadn’t heard of Humayun Saeed before his role as Dr. Hasnat Khan – the Brit-Pakistani who became Princess Diana’s love interest in the mid-Nineties – in The Crown, you would do well to dive right into his work. The seasoned Pakistani actor brings a nuanced warmth and appropriate amount of drama to the historical show about the British Royal family.

It builds upon three decades of rising up in the Pakistani movie and T.V. world, including Nineties dramas such as Mehndi, Ye Jahaan and more recent films like Inteha and Punjab Nahi Jaungi and Jawani Phir Nahi Ani. There’s a somber, no-nonsense side to Saeed that clearly made him a possibility to play Khan on The Crown. As it turned out, being part of the Netflix show started with Saeed actually giving his first ever audition for a role. While he was recovering from Covid-19, no less. He says over a Zoom call, “I had a 103-degree fever and they said they needed my audition in a day. I actually hadn’t ever given an audition like this before, so I wasn’t aware of the processes.”

After a couple of rounds, his agent gave him the good news – Saeed was going to the U.K. to be part of filming season 5 of The Crown with actors such as Jonathan Pryce (Prince Philip), Elizabeth Debicki (Princess Diana), Dominic West (Prince Charles). With the series written by Peter Morgan (The Last King of Scotland, Frost/Nixon and Bohemian Rhapsody) and Saeed’s appearances directed by Erik Richter Strand.

As a keen follower of the show, Saeed says he was “very honored” to be part of the show and represent Pakistan. Below, he talks to Rolling Stone India about the liberties taken in the narration of history in The Crown, his time on set and how it’s sparked ideas for his other job as a producer. Excerpts:

What has it been like seeing the reception for the new season of The Crown so far? What’s been one of your favorite reactions?

It was overwhelming to say the least. I’m very honored. There were very good responses. From everywhere, I got a lot of messages and a lot of actors appreciated it. Between you and me, I’d tell you the favorite reactions were from people in Pakistan. People have taken a lot of pride that a Pakistani actor was part of a Netflix show internationally.

Fans are considering this not just my personal accomplishment but an honor for Pakistani film and that it’s a big step up for the Pakistani film industry. The fact that I was able to bring recognition to my country is incredibly humbling.

What was it like being approached for this role? What were your thoughts on The Crown even before this offer came your way?

I was following the show, I’d watched all four seasons. I didn’t think I would be part of the fifth season! Whether it would be a small role or a big one, I knew the role of Dr. Hasnat Khan was an impactful one. Back home, everyone knows the Dr. Khan who had a connection with Diana. She was a global icon and so popular that we’d know everything about her.

That’s why this character was quite important. A lot of people in Pakistan and around the world knew and read about him. People who stay in Jhelum and in London talk about how he was their neighbor or known to them. I’d heard a lot that way too. I didn’t think I would become part of The Crown.

When the call came, I was actually down with Covid. I had a 103-degree fever and they said they needed my audition in a day. I actually hadn’t ever given an audition like this before, so I wasn’t aware of the processes. Somehow, I spoke to my friend Nadir, who’s a director here. I asked him to shoot my audition. He helped me a lot and we sent it through. A day later, I got a call from my agent saying I was in the top three, among the five to eight auditions. I had to shoot another scene and send that through. That’s when I got a call saying I was nearly through and I just needed to speak to the director and have a reading with him.

All of this was happening online, so I met with the director, did a read and we chatted a bit. During the Zoom call, when we did a scene, a voice behind the director said, “Fantastic!” That’s when I felt a bit relieved and thought, ‘Mera ho jayega.’ [I’ll get this] After some time, my agent called me and congratulated me about getting the role.

The audition and the process – of going there and meeting people, wardrobe fits and then shooting – was really good. I was happy that I got this character and this opportunity.

As someone who’s also a producer and a seasoned actor in the Pakistani film and T.V. industry, what was it like stepping on to sets there and seeing how production went down on The Crown?

Definitely, I was very excited to see how pictures were shot there. We’ve seen some stuff online but when you’re in there and working on set, the excitement is different. On my first day of shoot, from call time when the car came to pick me up at 6 am and having this schedule for the day laid out – makeup, breakfast, when I’ll reach where and having me ready for shoot by 9 am. I got the call exactly at 8:30 to head to the set. When I got there, the director sat me down and said, ‘This is your space and you have to tell us how you’ll be comfortable to act out this scene.’ We figured that we would be sitting and it would be good to make that casual. We rehearsed that whole scene with just the director in our presence. He’d sent everyone else off. Then the director called the crew in and asked them to watch. It felt a bit awkward at first, because it felt like it was a theater performance but it was fun. I’d never done anything like that.

A few people spoke about the scene and how it hooked them. It gives you a bit of courage when you hear things like that. Then the camera rehearsal begins and the shoot starts. I noticed that the set had a sense of silence. In our part, you’ll have someone shouting, ‘Light upar karo! Light niche karo! Idhar aao, udhar jao!’ There was nothing like that. No phones were allowed on the set. Everyone was just doing their job and silently, kindly, the director came by to explain things and everyone was just on walkie-talkies. There were no disturbances on set. Importance was for us to feel comfortable and focused – no one was in our eyeline. There’s different lighting for mood over there, I feel. In their visual aesthetics and tone for The Crown, it’s very specific.

There’s a scene where I’m explaining to Diana how the surgery is going to be and she’s feeling quite romantic and it’s evident. That was the first scene we shot. It was a learning for me to be on a set like that, of a big, world-famous production. I noted a lot of things – their scheduling and way of working, how a scene is shot with different angles and shows actors in different ways. I’m a 38/39 year old doctor who’s slowly understanding the intentions of this woman. One expression they’d capture was how the doctor understood everything and just remained sweet about it and the other times, he’s confused. You really enjoy the process of getting all that and having the director choose between all that.

The Crown has, still, divided a lot of viewers about how a drama based on history can take liberties. What are your thoughts on this, especially given the insight you perhaps have from working on the show?

I think from the four seasons I’ve seen, it feels pretty close to reality. Everyone has their own perspective, of course. As artists, our job is to present perspectives and start a discussion around it. When we’re working – especially with something based on history – you begin thinking about it and everyone has their own thoughts. If someone writes a book, or makes a film, someone would definitely point out the ways in which the book is different from the film. Someone will say they’ll like the book more than the film or vice versa. It happens with art.

According to me, the way they’ve made it – and I didn’t know that much about the Royal family in depth – when I see this, my interest really increased. People go online and google, read more books and try to find out more. People would tell me how they would watch The Crown and then want to know more and became interested. There are such insights to their life – the sacrifices they’ve made, especially the Queen, to keep the family together. I think it’s tough for the maker and for the viewer. You don’t show everything as is, because some differences crop up and some people would say, ‘That’s not what happened’ or ‘That’s exactly correct!’

Still, it’s a big accomplishment of The Crown that the viewer will always want to learn more. They’ve taken up research on their own times. They’ve done a great job.

What else is coming up for you?

I’m working on three films – Naram Garam, it’s an action-comedy film. The other is Love Guru which is a rom-com and another is Aaj Rang Hai. It’s a romantic-action film. There are a few television projects where the script is still being written. Let’s see what comes first and the order of it – I haven’t thought of that. We’re thinking about it, but there are script changes and it’s sometimes difficult every time when your film project is successful, then your T.V. series is successful… you hope that everything that comes next will also be successful. They’re mostly my own productions. We usually sit on the story together, it’s teamwork.