Ali Fazal to play lead in Hollywood film Code Name: Johnny Walker

Ali Fazal, who is awaiting the release of Kenneth Branagh's Death on the Nile, has bagged a role in another Hollywood film Code Name: Johnny Walker, where he will play the lead character. 

The film is adapted from the non-fiction book of the same name, which tells the story of US Navy Seal’s ‘most trusted’ translator who saved many lives during the Iraq War. He was given the alias Johnny Walker in order to protect his identity. The book is co-authored by the translator himself and Jim DeFelice. 

Fazal revealed the news in an interview with GQ magazine. He also spoke about how Hollywood is writing characters for actors based in other parts of the world. 

“People [in the West] are now more open to writing parts that can have actors cast from across the canvas. This is very hard to do because you have to get geography out of your head. Naturally, not all movies can do that – an Indian film about a farmer in the hinterland can’t cast Tom Cruise,” he said. 

Fazal also has the keenly awaited second season of Hindi web-series Mirzapur coming up. It will start streaming on 23 October on Amazon Prime Video.