Weeks ago, during an intimate chat in Dubai, Pakistani actor Humayun Saeed had hinted at an upcoming Hollywood collaboration in the works. Now, the news has been confirmed that Saeed has bagged a prominent role in season five of the hit Netflix show, ‘The Crown’.
Saeed will be playing Dr Hasnat Khan on the series based on the British monarchy, according to Variety, stepping into the role as the companion and love interest of the late Princess Diana.
Dr Khan is a British-Pakistani heart surgeon who practiced at London’s Royal Brompton Hospital and was involved with Princess Diana between 1995 and 1997. Their affair was later confirmed by the medical professional during a 2004 statement he made to London’s Metropolitan Police at the inquest into Princess Diana’s death. After breaking up with Dr Khan, Princess Diana met Dodi Al Fayed on holiday and was with him until her death in 1997.
In the police statement, submitted from Pakistan where he later relocated, Dr Khan said that the press intrusion drove a wedge between him and Princess Diana, driving him to move countries. The couple’s affair also happened right around the time former BBC journalist Martin Bashir also came into the picture with the infamous Panorama interview that followed Princess Diana to her death in 1997, when she died in a road accident in Paris with Al Fayed.
Joining Saeed in ‘The Crown’ will be ‘Tenet’ star Elizabeth Debicki who will play Princess Diana on the show. Meanwhile, ‘The Kite Runner’ star Khalid Abdalla has been cast as Al Fayed.
Saeed, who’s enjoyed a career spanning 26 years, both as an actor and a producer, has blockbuster hits to his credit that include movies such as ‘Jawani Phir Nahi Ani’, ‘Punjab Nahi Jaungi’ and the Pakistani drama ‘Meray Paas Tum Ho’, which went on to become the highest rated TV show in the country.
Last year, Saeed and actor Adnan Siddiqui also announced they have partnered with Tekdin Films and TRT production for a new project. Tekdin Films is the production house behind the hugely popular Turkish historical TV drama ‘Dirilis Ertugrul’ (Ertugrul’s Resurrection) which has been all the rage in Pakistan since PTV began airing a dubbed version.
According to reports, both Pakistani and Turkish actors will be part of the project.
