Sep 9, 2021

Disney+ Hotstar Indian actor Dino Morea started his Bollywood journey with the image of a lover boy in the 90s. He now returns as the antagonist of Disney+ Hotstar’s new epic saga, The Empire. The web series launched a week ago and Morea is being widely appreciated for his performance as Shaybani Khan on the show. In this interview, the Raaz star shares what attracts artists to negative roles. Morea says, “The fact that there are no boundaries (attracts artists to negative roles). There are no limitations that one needs to follow as an actor. When playing a good guy, you have to be a certain way but while doing bad guy’s character, you can do the craziest of things and people will still believe you. It is the best opportunity for any actor to showcase talent.” Asked if he ever anticipated he’d get this kind of a response for his performance in The Empire , Morea says, “No, I just worked really hard and I did not think what the feedback was going to be, while working on show. This overwhelming feedback is just outstanding, I knew people were going to appreciate it but the feedback is tremendous. I am eternally grateful.” Talking about getting the opportunity of playing the antagonist in The Empire, Morea adds, “Mitakshara Kumar and Nikkhil Advani saw me as Shaybani khan and I jumped at the opportunity. I must thank them both for seeing me this way and taking the chance with me. The director, producer, everyone was willing to take that risk of casting me in a negative role.” Created by Nikkhil Advani, The Empire stars Kunal Kapoor as Babar while Shabana Azmi plays his grandmother Aisan Daulat Begum. The series is now streaming on Disney+ Hotstar. (The conversation has been edited and condensed for clarity.) MORE FOR YOU