Rish Shah is happy to see you. He has something for you in his pocket. He looks at you sheepishly while fishing around for it and produces a clothbound edition of Margery Allingham’s Sweet Danger with gilt edges. He might let you touch it, but you can’t take it home. “Forget the female gaze, they’re for my gaze,” the 27-year-old actor brushes off my attempt at Wattpad fiction, showing me the scores of Macmillan Collector’s Library editions he’s purchased over the years. Shah’s book collection isn’t meant to be a chick magnet. Nor is the chest hair peeping out of Shazad Latif’s slightly unbuttoned shirt. The fact that neither actor is ‘performing’ these hot-boy traits is exactly what makes them hot.
Between them, Shah and Latif have recently played a swashbuckling pirate (Nautilus), a boy who catches the fancy of a closeted soccer player (Overcompensating), a drifter with a complicated history whom you just want to protect (Atomic) and a superhero’s crush who has his own secret powers (Ms Marvel). These haven’t been blink-and-you-miss-it roles either; both British Indian Shah and English Scottish Pakistani Latif have spent enough time on screen for us to appreciate their acting skills as well as their faces. Set to star in The Moment and Wuthering Heights—two of the biggest films releasing in early 2026—they chat about breaking the ‘brown man’ template in Western media and the love they’re getting for it.
Vogue India: Both of you come from non-film backgrounds. How tough was it to convince your sweet South Asian parents, who probably had academic aspirations for you, that you wanted to get into the movies?
Shazad Latif: My dad worked as a projectionist changing film reels in the cinema hall when he was about 15. It was actually one of the first jobs he got after moving to London, so he was partial to the movies. His best friend was Roger Lloyd-Pack, who played Trigger on Only Fools and Horses. Roger was into poetry and Shakespeare, which got me into it too. Then, my teacher in year 4 made me audition for Romeo and Juliet, but we did it with West Side Story songs. We were eight years old and we were putting on tights. I was like, “This is great, man.”
Rish Shah: On weekends, my aunts, uncles, cousins and I would pile into cars and go to the cinema hall in Edmonton, Alberta. I’d be sitting in the passenger seat on the floor or in the trunk with my cousin—the most illegal journeys, you know? We’d go and watch Bollywood films and I would see myself in those people on screen who looked just like me. I fell in love with the idea of it.
Shazad Latif: I totally get it. My dad was one of eight siblings, so my South Asian side has thousands of cousins. When school was out, I’d stay at my aunt’s in Reading in the UK, and all that would play on television was Bollywood movies. It was a lot of Shah Rukh Khan.
Vogue India: Who wasn’t watching Shah Rukh Khan? He’s practically a rite of passage for South Asians.
Shazad Latif: King Khan, King Khan.
Vogue India: You both grew up British South Asian. That hyphenated identity comes with so many layers because of our history of colonisation. What did ‘home’ mean to you as a child?
Shazad Latif: Life with my brown family was quite different from life with my white friends. My friends would probably think, ‘Oh, he’s going to Reading again’, but none of them really knew what I got up to with my 15 cousins. I’ve been going back to Pakistan since I was a kid and I just try to keep that link intact. That’s why I’m stereotypically obsessed with curry. I’m still trying to find the perfect sauce because the restaurants here just don’t do it as well as my auntie back home.
Rish Shah: One of my favourite rituals when I’m travelling is to light agarbatti in the morning because it reminds me of home. The fragrance of incense or cha—I’m Gujarati so I say ‘cha’ not ‘chai’—just grounds me.
Vogue India: Rish, Overcompensating and Do Revenge turned you into the kind of man that both men and women thirst after. ‘Sexy’ wasn’t really a characteristic that was associated with brown actors until very recently, but you’ve started at sexy right out of the gate.
Shazad Latif: He’s an incredibly sexy man.
Rish Shah: That’s very flattering. I think feeling confident—and sexy, as a by-product—comes from the people I surround myself with, my family and mates who uplift me. I’ve been lucky that it’s inherent in the scripts that have been coming to me. I have no intention of being charming. If someone’s actively trying to achieve that, it won’t work.
Vogue India: The characters you’ve played, like Tariq Masood in Spooks and Edgar Linton in the upcoming Wuthering Heights, are the kind of men who carry a quiet strength without being performatively macho. Would you say you’re a softboi, Shazad?
Shazad Latif: I don’t want to say I’m a softboi because that term is loaded with elements of manipulation or hiding something. I do think it’s good to try and add a less masculine quality to a man. My father certainly wasn’t a softboi and I’m trying to break away from that generational trauma. It’s tough being human, isn’t it? I’m such a different person from 9am to 9pm.
Vogue India: Rish, you’re part of a generation that’s much more comfortable being emotionally expressive. Are you an open book or are you mysterious like the characters you play?
Rish Shah: Those who know me will tell you I’m terrible at hiding my emotions. I state my intentions very quickly and very loudly. It’s funny because I’ve often been told that I’m unapproachable at first, which is odd because it’s not something I put out actively. I’m super transparent.
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Shazad Latif: I’m the same. I wear my heart on my sleeve. If something goes wrong, I’m crying in front of my friends. It’s very dangerous to hold stuff in. I’ve seen everyone in my family do that and I’m trying to do the opposite. No secrets, nothing.
Vogue India: Everyone wants a British boyfriend now. There’s Dua Lipa and Callum Turner, Zendaya and Tom Holland, Zoë Kravitz and Harry Styles. What is it about British men?
Rish Shah: I don’t know the answer to that but it’s such a cheat code when I’m auditioning anywhere outside the UK. I’ll read my lines in an American accent, and when they realise I’m British, they’ll say, “Wait, can we do all of that again, but in your original accent?” There have been so many instances where I’ve read for an American character and they’ve changed it to a British one because Americans think we’re more charming.
Vogue India: Speaking of charm, what’s your preferred method of courtship?
Rish Shah: I write letters. I genuinely do, I’m not lying. These are my letters right here. [Holds up a box of letters and envelopes.] I’m actually a hopeless romantic—it’s probably from watching all those Bollywood films from when I was young.
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Shazad Latif: I’m very impulsive. I had a partner who lived in Australia, and I flew eight times in one year just to see them. I have an Algerian buddy who gets cheap flights through his company so I was able to do it, but let that sink in for a minute: I flew to Australia eight times in one year.
Rish Shah: That’s a long journey.
Shazad Latif: Yeah, that’s the kind of stupid thing love makes you do, right?
Rish Shah: I used the screening of The Sweet East as an excuse to go to New York for a first date. I said I had to be there for work, but I didn’t even sit through the screening because I’d seen the film before and I get anxious watching myself at premieres. We went for a meal, then I rushed back for the Q&A and ran up on stage. It was so ridiculous.
Vogue India: Just for kicks, I want to ruin the fantasy a little. What is one thing about you that could give someone the ick?
Rish Shah: I wear Invisalign retainers to bed. It’s the cost of a smile that I hope is decent.
Shazad Latif: Worth it for those teeth, man. When I’m watching a movie, I sometimes bite my nails without knowing I’m doing it. I also eat too fast and burp a little as a result. My English Scottish mum cooked terribly so I’m always looking for good food.
Vogue India: You each had a show come out in 2025 and are gearing up for the release of Wuthering Heights and The Moment. I’d say you’ve earned your rest. How do you like to unwind?
Shazad Latif: I’ve got a good group of friends and we do a lot of sports. I’m very into pickleball. I play a lot of football and a fair bit of table tennis too. I like to cook, do ice baths, saunas, all the classic stuff. I watch a ton of movies—sometimes two or even three movies a night. Films are my safe space, man. I go right back to being a kid again.
Rish Shah: I also spend a lot of time with my mates. I just got a new motorbike and I love riding. I’m obsessed with music. I can’t live without my Spotify playlist. It’s called ‘Brown Vibe’; I begin every day with it.
Shazad Latif: I need you to send me that playlist.
Rish Shah: It’s a game-changer. It’s so good, but it’s really sad songs. I love being sad in the morning. It’s the best time to be sad. By night-time, I’ve earned being happy.
Vogue India: What’s the saddest song on your playlist?
Rish Shah: ‘Behti Hawa Sa Tha Woh’ from 3 Idiots.
Shazad Latif: Put it on the chat. I’m going to put it on while I get ready.
Vogue India: Before I leave you both to your sad playlists, I have a final question. Shazad, as soon as the Wuthering Heights trailer dropped, the internet exploded with observations about how you would’ve made a better Heathcliff since Emily Brontë expressly didn’t imagine him as a white man. Do you think you would’ve made a better Heathcliff?
Shazad Latif: I’ve actually discussed this with Emerald [Fennell], because her interpretation of the book is so different. In the movie, Edgar is a credible threat to Heathcliff. It’s not that he’s just rich; he’s also clever and kind. He’s a man who loves his wife, knowing that she loves someone else. The whole ‘tragic romance’ part of Wuthering Heights wouldn’t work without Edgar. You have to rely on the cuckold for the story to be told. It’s so sad to watch someone you yearn for yearning for someone else, but it’s also such a beautiful way to be human. And maybe that’s an even more interesting role to play than the lead.
Rish Shah: I’ve never been so excited to go and cry in the theatre. Obviously, I can’t wait to hear the Wuthering Heights soundtrack because everything Charli’s teased so far has been insanely good. I’ve worked with her on Overcompensating and The Moment, and I’m such a fan of her work.
Vogue India: Wait, you guys have a Charli XCX connection?
Shazad Latif: We do, yeah. Rish is pals with her, but I haven’t met her yet.
Rish Shah: We need to do a link-up.
Shazad Latif: Have some cha together, man. That’s what we three South Asians need to do.
This story appears in Vogue India’s January-February 2026 issue. Subscribe here.
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