Every so often, an actor bursts onto the scene who you just know is destined for greatness. Even in the early days of their career, they possess a world-wise vibe suggesting they are different from the rest of the fame-hungry hopefuls. Zain has it in spades.

Denim Jacket and Jeans Toga Archive / Boots Grenson / Jewellery Talent’s own

As our grooming team set to work on him for the pictures, he chats sparingly with a deep, streetwise drawl, giving little away. Aside from the usual polite niceties, he reveals he spent the night before with his mates watching England make it through the semis to what would prove to be a very disappointing final. Not that he cares much; football isn’t his thing, he says.

Clothes, on the other hand, are. He looks like he’s having a blast as he slips into the outfits we’ve selected for him. “I love my clothes. That’s what I spend my money on. Vintage and the like.” When asked why he gave up modelling – a career that could have seen him donning the coolest designs – he admits the rejection at castings was brutal. “It was a struggle,” he confesses. “I feel for models. I never took it too personally because I was never that interested in modeling. If you walk down Regent Street, someone will pull you over and call you in to model. It’s happened to me twice. That’s how my brother got his big agent.”

After returning to the studio from taking pictures outside, he sits down to chat. He’s more relaxed now, relieved that the hard work is over, even though he insists it’s the photographer and creative team who make the pictures magical. “I just stand there,” he chuckles. “Everyone else does the hard work.”

Shirt and shorts Toga Archive / Shoes Grenson / Jewellery Talent’s own / Socks Talent’s own

Modest, it seems. And a man of mystery too. When asked his age, he plays coy and refuses to give a number. We guess 25, but he seems to love the mystery and jokes he could be 37 or 47. Maybe older. A close glance at his lineless skin suggests we’re closer to the truth, but we’ll let him enjoy his moment of fun. The scamp!

Zain stars in Holly Jackson’s best-selling YA novel A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder as Ravi, a young guy who teams up with teen detective Pip, played by Wednesday star Emma Myers, to clear his brother’s name in a schoolgirl’s murder. Although he hadn’t read the book until well into the audition process, Zain embraced the role as an important step in positive representation for South and East Asian audiences. “It’s important that my character, a person of colour, is portrayed as perfect, cool, handsome, sweet, and humble,” he says.

Here, Zain opens up about moving from Cheadle to London to pursue his acting dreams, why he’d rather star in an indie character piece than a big-budget blockbuster, and how he is starting to deal with the attention from ravenous fans.

Zain, A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder is your first major role, which also stars Emma Myers from TV megahit Wednesday. Was it an intimidating environment to enter into?

Not really. I’ve always had stupidly good self-belief. I’ve always been a bit deluded that I can do it. Any audition I go into, I get nervous, but I just go in and show them what I can do. So, I always go in with that attitude. Not in a cocky way, but with self-confidence.

Denim Jacket and Jeans Edwin / Boots Dr Marten /
 T-shirt Talent’s own / Jewellery Talent’s own

Before this, you’d only appeared in a few short films. How did you land this part?

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. As with any other audition, my agent just sent off a self-tape. One of the auditions for the show was on Zoom. I think I had six or seven more auditions after that.

Did you feel like, “Oh God, I really want to get this because this could be a really good big break”?

I didn’t actually know about the book when I first started auditioning, but the further I got I looked into it and I was like, “Shit.” But the reason why I wanted it was it shows my people like me in a very good light. In it, I’m playing the leading man. He’s handsome, hot, kind, sweet, you know, and people of colour like me don’t usually get that. That’s why I think a lot of other actors who look like me wanted to play this and that’s why I was keen to grab onto it.

So you don’t think that there are many roles out there for actors like you?

You don’t get many Asian leads. You get the white sweet leads. You get the Jacob Elordis. This is why I give props to the writer for creating this character. The way people react to him in the book and on the show, they see him as the perfect boyfriend. Like the Internet boyfriend, the BookTok boyfriend.

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So, in the early stages of your career, did you think it was a closed-door industry because you’re a person of colour who doesn’t get lead roles and you come from a background without much money?

A hundred percent. When I first started, it felt like getting into a good series or film seemed impossible. Like Game of Thrones, it felt impossible. I never thought it could happen to me. If you told me what I’ve done now when I first started, I’d laugh at you. I always thought I’d get one-liners, maybe a couple of regular episodes, but never the lead roles. Even if it never happened, I was prepared to keep working at it. If this show didn’t happen, I’d still be pushing to do it. I’m very lucky. Most young actors have stage moms or come from money. It’s different for me. But people like me appreciate it more when things happen for us. We can’t take it for granted. This doesn’t happen for people like us.

And your family are supportive, especially your mum. She instilled that belief in you.

She’s always said I could do whatever I wanted, as long as it was legal.

Was film always the dream?

I’m a film nerd. I’ve grown up around films. My dad had movies playing around the house. He showed me The Godfather and The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. I never wanted to become an actor. I just went along with life not knowing what I wanted to do. Because I love films. I was like, let me just try this. I started doing short films, did more, got the bug for it, and then I was like, wait, I like this, I like playing characters. It’s very interesting to see how other people live their lives and for you to step into someone else’s shoes.

So when did you suddenly think to yourself, I want to make this my job?

Probably just after Covid. I did loads of auditions for shows up north and got lots of callbacks. I got down to the last two for some well-known shows, but it never worked out. I don’t know why. Out of my hands. It hurt a lot. But I’ve learned to let go.

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So then you decided to move down to London?

I was like, I need to leave Manchester and get to London. It was where I knew my career could start! It’s got that energy. I was hungry to start work. It wasn’t easy as I don’t come from money, so I couldn’t ask anyone for money. It was just me. So I came here, worked two jobs, did the auditions, went to workshops, did little classes here and there, auditioned my arse off. And then this part came about a year into me moving here. I think if I hadn’t moved here, that wouldn’t have happened for me. By doing that, I’m very proud of myself. It took me a year, and I booked a good job. I feel very grateful. I’m very lucky, but also a lot of hard work went into it.

Is your mind already fixed on something like Bridgerton, where you can be the next Jonathan Bailey and have doors opened?

I don’t want to do those kinds of shows, if I’m honest. I want to play cool, challenging, difficult characters. But never say never. If it happens, it happens, because you can’t really control your career. All I know is, I want to be a leading man.

What kind of films would you want to be in?

I want to do indie stuff like Sound of Metal with Riz Ahmed. I love actors like Riz and Dev Patel and Barry Keoghan and the choices they make. I want to take stuff to festivals, like Cannes.

That’s interesting because a lot of people starting out want to be in Die Hard 6 or something.

I love films. I love what goes on behind the cameras, like cinematography and directing. Like everything to do with film, I love. But I’m picky. I pray to God I get to pick and choose one day, and then I will pick and choose the way I want to.

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You seem quite determined and know what you want, and that’s a good thing to have at such an early stage.

Thank you. I want to be in films like Tree of Life with Brad Pitt. Brad Pitt is a good example of the type of career path I’d like to take because he’s a leading man, but he also takes on character roles. That’s what I want. The kind of parts Joaquin Phoenix plays. I’ll play the leads but also go into character. I want to be able to do both. Robert Pattinson went from Twilight to what he’s done since, like The Lighthouse. He does what he wants to do but knows that his Twilight fan base in some ways helps to finance those indie films because he’s the face that’s bringing them in.

So I guess you have to bite your lip a little bit and do something a bit more mainstream for the exposure, and then you do what you love for yourself.

I don’t do this to be famous. I find it weird getting stopped on the street. It was never my aim. And now that I’ve got it, I’m like, what do I do? But I guess it’s the price you pay to do the work you want to do. And I’m willing to pay that if I get to do the films and TV I want to do.

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A lot of actors who haven’t courted fame find dealing with it very difficult. And a lot of them move away from the industry. Have you thought about how you’ll handle it?

It’s not at that crazy level of fame yet. I just want to have success, like people like Barry Keoghan. He’s been working for years, but it was Saltburn that made him well known. That’s the kind of film I really want to make. Dark, different. I want that kind of role. Let me get the chance to lick the bathwater. How entertaining is it to watch something like that compared to a straightforward film? When you sit down and watch it, you’re like, what the fuck is going on? Instead of watching another film like Fast and Furious where you’re just focusing on snacks.

So are you already on the hunt for the next role?

I’m still auditioning. But the show has done well and been well received on iPlayer. From August, the show is available globally on Netflix, so that will open it up to a bigger audience.

Would the dream be to be on some kind of film set working opposite someone like Brad Pitt?

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.

Leonardo DiCaprio has enjoyed a really varied career – What’s Eating Gilbert Grape? and Romeo + Juliet.

He’s a monster actor, I think. Just different. Some people are just at a different level. He can be the sexy heartthrob one minute but also has versatility. Johnny Depp is the same. He can do something quirky and then do something like The Tourist.

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 T-shirt Talent’s own / Jewellery Talent’s own

Away from film and TV, who is Zain? What kind of things do you get up to away from sets?

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.

You and your mum have a good relationship, don’t you?

She’s like my best friend. My dad is too, but my mum has always been there and told me I can do whatever I want.

So that’s where your self-belief comes from. Have you ever been a handful for her?

I was a good boy at home. I’ve always had the utmost respect for my parents. They’re very relaxed. Otherwise, I wouldn’t be an actor, I guess. At school, I was naughty. I used to get into petty fights, but I didn’t cause them. There are two sides to me. I can keep to myself, which I love. But then I can also be very sociable, which I love too. It depends on what I’m feeling. I think I adapt myself to all sorts of people. I feel like I’ve always been code-switching in a way. I talk to you guys at Principle in a sort of professional way, with a few added f-bombs. But I talk differently to my parents. And then at school, some kids were posh and I would speak that sort of way with them. Then when I’d go to the boxing gym, I’d talk a bit differently. I think it’s a good strength to have. I honestly think I can get on with anyone.

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Is your friendship circle quite large?

I have very few friends. But they are good people. When I moved to London, I did this corporate job for a massive company and met my good friends, Rowan and Greg. They’re like my boys. They’re actors as well. From there, I just met more people.

Do you like London?

I love London. I’ve moved around a bit. When I first came, I went to Holborn because my brother was studying there. Then I moved to West London, then Inner West, and now I’m in North West, near Hampstead.

You sound like you’re on the run, always moving around.

[Laughing] If someone finds my address, that would freak me out.

You’ve created this air of mystery around yourself.

I like that. Why should I share my personal details with the public? That’s for me.

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Is fame something that would put you off pursuing this career, or would you just take it in stride?

No, because I know it’s the fans who get you there. The reason why this series is what it is, is because of the fans. So, no, it wouldn’t put me off. I’m lucky; I’ve received very positive messages. I would never judge my own performance. It’s not my place to say. I’ve watched it back, but it’s subject to interpretation. You might think I’m the best thing in the world. The next guy might think I’m terrible. That’s up to them. But I will always do what I can and give it my all.

Your performance in the show felt very natural, like you weren’t acting.

That’s what I want. Isn’t that what every actor wants, to act like you’re not acting? I want it to be as real as possible. That’s why I’m against training. Well, I’m not against it, but it’s not right for me. I’ve been a fan of Barry Keoghan for years, long before Saltburn. I loved him in ’71. He played a cat killer on Irish TV. He shot a dog in Chernobyl. I have followed him for years. He’s very natural and raw and against training, which I love so much. When you watch him, he’s so raw and real that you just never know what he’s going to do next.

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Yes, there’s a danger there.
Which is what I love so much. When you’re acting, forget about everything. Lose yourself in it. It’s hard, but you can do it. I’m not too far from Ravi on the show, but he’s an introvert. I’m more confident.

Tell us more about your real life. Acting was your hobby, so what do you do now?

I work out, see my mates, go for coffee, walk, read books, and watch movies.

Any wild nights out?

I don’t go out a lot, but when I do, I do it properly.

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 T-shirt Talent’s own / Jewellery Talent’s own

Do you mind being seen as a heartthrob?

I never thought about it. Some comments I get are wild, but I just ignore them. I’m more concerned about being a good actor than my looks. If someone says I’m a good actor, that would make me happier than my looks. You look how you look. Do you know what I mean? I can’t control that. And it’s subjective, you know.

I guess you’d love a role in which you got to ugly up a little bit and do something different.

Yeah, but I’d also love an aftershave advert that pays millions. You know, let’s mix it up.

With fame, sometimes comes fortune. Are you looking forward to having more money? 

I have a weird relationship with money. I’m not stingy with it. I’ll spend where I need to spend. If I’m buying a four-pound coffee, I’m buying that four-pound coffee because I want it. If I want a drink, I buy a drink, but I’m not spending stupidly. I’m not going to buy a two-grand suit or a four-grand bag. My lifestyle will be very similar. I just want to have the freedom to not pay rent and put a fat deposit down on a flat. That’s what I’d do.

A GOOD GIRL’S GUIDE TO MURDER is available to stream on BBC iPlayer now,
and releases globally on Netflix from August 1.

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