A Good Girl's Guide to Murder is now live on Netflix, introducing viewers to Zain Iqbal's Ravi for the first time.
This new Netflix series shows a small town dealing with the aftereffects of a murder-suicide, looking at its inhabitants five years later as the case becomes the hot news topic once again. This all sets up a dangerous story with a new murderer, putting the young people of Little Kilton in danger for a second time.
Featuring Wednesday's Emma Meyers and Bridgerton's India Lillie Davies, 26-year-old Zain Iqbal takes center stage in this cast as well.
Meet Zain Iqbal - Actor Biography Details
Zain Iqbal Has Loved Acting Since Childhood
Now standing at six-foot-two, Zain Iqbal has loved acting since he was a young child.
Speaking to ELLE, Iqbal revealed that he started his acting journey "with student films" and different classes before he "caught the bug," wanting to do it more as he loved "stepping into someone’s shoes" with each new role:
"I have always had a love for films and acting since childhood. So, I decided to try it out and see where it goes. I started with student films, did classes here and there, and then you can say I caught the bug, I guess. And then I just started doing it more. And then I started to enjoy making characters and stepping into someone’s shoes and feeling like what they’re going through."
He also revealed to Principle Magazine that he worked on "loads of short films" before his work on A Good Girl's Guide to Murder along with more corporate gigs that helped him pay his bills:
"I’ve done loads of short films, some of which I wish weren’t on the Internet. I did a lot of corporate jobs that paid the bills."
Zain Is Inspired by Clint Eastwood and Dev Patel
According to Iqbal, two of his biggest inspirations in the world of acting are Dev Patel and Clint Eastwood.
In his chat with ELLE, he looked back to watching films like The Godfather and The Good, the Bad and the Ugly when he was young, praising Eastwood's work along with Marlon Brando.
When he started his own acting journey, he looked to actors who looked like him, leading him to watch stars like Riz Ahmed and Dev Patel while studying "how they’re going about in the industry:"
"I’ve been watching films for a long time. My dad would play the classics like 'The Godfather' and 'The Good, the Bad and the Ugly' when I was a little kid, so Marlon Brando and Clint Eastwood are the actors I grew up watching. And when I started taking acting seriously, I started looking for people like me. So then, well, there are only a few people doing it, and you can count them on one hand. So then I started to look at people like Riz Ahmed and Dev Patel and how they’re going about in the industry, and I can relate to them the most."
He reiterated the same sentiment with Wonderland Magazine, adding names like Steve McQueen, Jack O'Connell, Ben Mendelsohn, and Robert Pattinson to the list of actors he studies. He is most drawn to actors with "very unique, almost odd, approaches to the craft:"
"My love for film really began with my dad playing classics around the house when I was a little kid, like 'The Good, the Bad and the Ugly,' 'The Godfather' and 'The Great Escape.' People like Clint Eastwood, Marlon Brando and Steve McQueen quickly became my favourites. When I started getting serious about acting, I naturally started to look at where I wanted to belong in this industry and that led to me discovering Riz Ahmed and Dev Patel. They have both done so much in terms of representation in the industry. I love Riz’s film, The Sound of Metal — it’s such a huge movie for me. I look up to so many, Jack O’Connell, Ben Mendelsohn, Barry Keoghan, Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson. I’m drawn to actors that have very unique, almost odd, approaches to the craft."
Zain Had a Long Audition Process for A Good Girl's Guide to Murder
In A Good Girl's Guide to Murder, Zain Iqbal plays Ravi Singh. He helps Emma Meyers' main character Pip Fitz-Amobi investigate Andie Bell’s disappearance and Sal Singh’s death, which is especially difficult since he is Sal's brother.
Discussing his audition process with Principle Magazine, he shared that his agent "sent off a self-tape" before having another audition on Zoom and "six or seven more auditions after that."
Speaking with Wonderland Magazine, he admitted to not having heard of the story for this show originally, which shocked him "given there is such a strong fanbase there around the books."
However, he was happy that he "didn’t know of the book or the popularity of it," which may have put even more pressure on him to be great before he got the role:
"I hadn’t ever heard of it, which seems strange looking back now — given there is such a strong fanbase there around the books. I treated it like any other audition, where you make the most of the material you are given, do the self tape or audition and then try to put it to the back of your mind. Looking back, I’m happy that I didn’t know of the book or the popularity of it, as I would have put too much pressure on myself. The audition process was really thorough, I had quite a few auditions including two chemistry reads with Emma. Ravi is such a popular character from the book and so I think the casting really wanted to get him right. I was able to work with Dolly Wells, our wonderful director, on developing Ravi as a character and it was a great process."
Zain Enjoys Boxing and Going on Walks
Outside of acting, Zain Iqbal enjoys several hobbies to keep a good grip on life.
He detailed those hobbies to Principle Magazine, explaining how even acting was "always just a hobby" to him. He has practiced boxing since childhood and loves staying active by running and working out:
"I’m really chilled because acting was always just a hobby. I’ve been boxing since I was a kid. I’m still trying to keep that up. I like running, working out, walking, grabbing a coffee, and speaking to my mum. I’m so boring."
In his day-to-day life, he is about as normal as most people, enjoying his coffee, walks, books, and movies:
"I work out, see my mates, go for coffee, walk, read books, and watch movies."
Zain Wants To Play Batman
Like many current young actors, Zain Iqbal has ideas for what characters he wants to play in the future, some of them coming from the world of superheroes.
Vogue asked the young star about those roles, and he said he "[wants] to play a villain," hoping to explore a character's dark side. He also threw out the idea of playing Batman someday:
"I want to play a villain. I’d love to tackle a character that looks like an innocent guy but has something really dark inside him. Or I’d love to play a detective. So like a bad boy. Or maybe Batman. I’d love to play Batman. Hey, we’ll see what comes up."
Another topic he addressed was actors he'd love to work alongside, naming off multiple legends on his wishlist to Principle Magazine:
"Yeah, I’d love to work with a legend. I think I’d learn a lot. Someone like Johnny Depp. Brad Pitt. DiCaprio, De Niro, Al Pacino."
How to Follow Zain Iqbal Online
Fans looking to follow Zain Iqbal on social media can do so on his Instagram profile (@zain.iqbl).
A Good Girl's Guide to Murder is now streaming on Netflix.
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