When director Emerald Fennell described how Edgar Linton was portrayed in previous versions of Wuthering Heights to Shazad Latif, she used the phrase “milk toast sap”. Not quite the words you want to hear about a character you’re about to devote the best part of a year to, I’m sure. 

Latif, however, saw it as an opportunity to change the narrative about a man who was initially written by Emily Brontë as spoiled and privileged. “Emerald wanted to ensure that Edgar came across as a credible threat to Heathcliff,” explains Latif. “This version shows that she’s actually torn. Catherine does love Edgar but, unfortunately, she just loves Heathcliff in a much deeper and different way.” 

Landing in UK cinemas today, Wuthering Heights has enjoyed the kind of hype few films can garner; a feverish furore that has spread across the world for the past month (helped, of course, by Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi’s mesmerising red carpet presence) and shows no signs of slowing. 

Latif with Emerald Fennell on the set of Wuthering Heights (2026). Image: Jaap Buitendijk

Poised to sweep the Valentine’s Day box office and earn back its $80 million production budget, and then some, during its opening weekend, is it too early to say its been a cultural phenomenon? Latif says: “As an actor, you never know what’s going to happen with a project. But when there’s hype around it, it’s obviously great; you can do terrible jobs and no one sees it, so when there’s anticipation for something like this, and it’s something you enjoyed making, it’s such a bonus. 

“Especially in the age we’re in, where you don’t get many cinematic releases and it’s slowing down, it’s so nice, as a young kid who wanted to be an actor, to be part of a Warner Brothers movie. I’m just going to be grateful for that.”

Latif’s experience with this film was, from the off, different to other projects on his CV. Fennell eschewed taped auditions – the new normal in the industry post-pandemic – for in-person meetings. Famed for her provocative and highly-stylised direction, Saltburn was the film that thrust Fennell into the spotlight – and it’s also the project that captured Latif’s attention. “I remember seeing Saltburn in Australia and thinking, ‘oh man, it would have been so great to be part of filming’ and that’s when I first started hearing about her. 

“She’s highly intelligent, knows what she’s doing and she’s fun. She kept saying on set that we have the best job ever and reminding us how great it is to come to set and play. The set was safe like that: there was no outside interference, there was no b*******. I think that was down to Margot and Emerald; from the top down, it was two women running the show. There were babies on set and there was a loving feeling to what we were doing.” 

Preparation for the high-budget, high-stakes movie started in December 2024, before filming took place from January to April 2025. Was Latif ready to take on not only such a cherished story in the world of English literature, but also a contemporary take on the beloved period drama genre? 

“I have always loved period dramas,” he explains. “My dad was a Pakistani cab driver and would listen to audio tapes of Jane Eyre. There’s always a fascination, especially if you’re English, with the myth of England and what England is, and period dramas are such a huge part of that. It’s always fun to costume up and go back in time and figure out how they drink tea. 

Image: By Pip

Latif with Margot Robbie as Catherine Earnshaw in Wuthering Heights (2026)

“Wuthering Heights was, funnily enough, a film I watched over and over as a child because it was one of seven VHS that my nan had on her wall. There was Great Expectations, Now, Voyager, Once Upon a Time in America and the Wuthering Heights starring Laurence Olivier.”

Much has been made about how this iteration of Wuthering Heights strays from the book: the aforementioned furore has also included concerns over casting, the electropop Charli XCX soundtrack and how it depicts what in the book is a tragic, toxic relationship as a swoon-worthy, sexy romance. 

Fennell defended her adaptation in the Guardian last year, explaining, “It’s an emotional response to something. It’s primal, sexual,” and, “I know that if somebody else made it, I’d be furious.” But it’s important to remember this is an individual interpretation of the novel and Wuthering Heights has been reinvented many times – in fact, there’s been no fewer than 35 films and nine TV series to date. 

“Wuthering Heights is Emerald’s vision; she said she wanted to make a film of how she felt when she was 14 and read the story for the first time. The feeling is different to the other films you would have seen and it’s visceral, but it’s still a period drama. It’s not contemporary in the sense of them wearing jeans,” laughs Latif. The Charli XCX soundtrack seemed to throw people, I counter. “It’s a stunning soundtrack and it adds so much heart to the film. When you get the music right, it’s a joy.” 

Back to Edgar Linton, though. A civilised, cultured and caring antithesis to Heathcliff’s (Elordi) wild nature, Edgar is deemed a safe pair of hands for Catherine (Robbie) – and, therefore, often dismissed as boring. “He’s rich, smarter and kind. The rich helps Catherine’s situation, as it would back then, but he was a really gentleman and not just this whimpering guy,” explains Latif. 

“There’s scenes in other films where they abuse him and this film is not that version. In films like The End of the Affair and Brief Encounter, which Emerald has spoken about as references, the tragedy is having the cuckold involved in the love triangle.”

Latif with Jacob Elordi at the world premiere of Wuthering Heights in Hollywood in January 2026. Image: Jay L. Clendenin

Image: David Jon Photography

So, what was it like working so closely with this fictitious love triangle? “It’s great to be working with top quality actors – that’s what you dream of, right? Margot and Jacob are both professionals and the whole team cared about our work.

“I mostly filmed in the studio because I was in two houses – I had a massive set that was my house, which was stunning, it even had a real garden and real flowers – and then Wuthering Heights and we filmed up north for a bit. I didn’t have much to do up there so I’d wait for Jacob and Margot to finish and then we’d go to the pub.” 

With the release imminent and reviews flowing in, for Latif, the most important thing is that the public goes to the cinema to watch it, not that they necessarily like it. “There’s going to be people that love it and there’s going to be people that hate it. But as long as we get bums on seats and people experience this film together – and laugh and cry together – that’s what I want. 

“I love my job and when it’s good it’s the greatest job in the world, I love the nomadic nature of it. When it’s not, it’s incredibly horrible and generally being self-employed is stressful. Wuthering Heights is an example of when it’s good. It has re-instilled my faith in the industry and working with great, beautiful people.” 

Wuthering Heights lands in UK cinemas on 13 February 2026.

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