Posted in: Exclusive, Interview, Lionsgate, Movies | Tagged: Murder at the Embassy

Murder at the Embassy Star Mido Hamada on Living Murder-Mystery Dream

Mido Hamada (Testament) spoke to us about his latest Lionsgate murder-mystery "Murder at the Embassy", Mischa Barton, filming in Egypt & more.

Mido Hamada is a jack of all trades when it comes to his versatility as a triple threat in drama, adventure, and action, with memorable roles in Warner Bros' American Sniper (2014), and Unknown (2011), Paramount's Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow (2004), and the Fox TV thriller 24. His latest is a welcome change of pace as part of an ensemble murder-mystery, Murder at the Embassy, for Lionsgate, the second of the Mischa Barton-starred Miranda Green franchise. Set in 1934, the film follows the private detective as she embarks on her journey to investigate a murder perpetrated in the British Embassy in Cairo, where a top-secret document was stolen, risking jeopardizing both Buckingham Palace and the peace of the world. Hamada spoke to Bleeding Cool about his golden opportunity to tackle the murder-mystery, working with director Stephen Shimek, Barton, why the small production and cast felt intimate like a play, and dealing with the harsh weather.

Murder at the Embassy: Star Mido Hamada on Tackling His First Murder-Mystery

What intrigued you about Murder at the Embassy?

I'd never been a part of that [murder-mystery] genre before, so I've always wanted to be part of that genre. It's one of my favorite genres to watch, and so to get the opportunity to be in a murder-mystery like that, especially one taking place in the 1930s and shot in Egypt on top of that, that was all the reason that I needed.

What's it like working with Stephen as a creative and immersing yourself in that setting?

Oh, it was really easy working with Stephen on this, especially because he allowed us to be affected by the environment. We had the great opportunity of shooting in some great locations in Egypt and Cairo. We shot at the Pyramids, the Nile, the Great Bazaar, and they all affect you, so you allow that to do all the work for you. He was great at setting the set, allowing us the freedom to explore, and find out and see what it does to us.

As the second of the Miranda Green franchise, did you see Invitation to a Murder (2023) or was it something you approached fresh?

No, I wanted to go in very fresh. I knew the first part had been out, and I watched the trailer of it to get a feel for what that was like. I didn't want to watch the whole movie. After all, I wanted to see what we do with it and be part of what we're going to bring because, apart from Mischa, all of us were new to the story. I knew we were going to bring something different to the first one, and yet in the same field and in the same genre.

What did you like about working with Mischa on this?

What's not to like? It was brilliant. She's great to play off, always in character, and really committed. She was wonderful to work with and to play off, and we had a fascinating relationship between our characters. I don't want to say too much to the audience so they can discover it for themselves, but yeah, there was a little bit of friction between the two of them. I think we leaned into that, and then the audience can see what the journey is and how we change it into something else towards the end.

I know you didn't share too many scenes with the other cast, but I was wondering if there was anything you could say about them, like Richard (Dillane), Antonia (Bernath), Raha (Rahbari), or Kojo (Attah)?

Kojo, Antonia, Raha, and Richard were all brilliant. It's a smaller cast, so in a way, it's like a play. You get to know each other, share the same green room together, and it's only a handful of you or two handfuls. We all got to know one another, go on this great journey, and have a great location. "Intimate" is the right word. It is an intimate cast.

Was there any aspect of production that might have been difficult, like a scene or setting? I know it's a little less action-intensive than what you might be used to, but is there anything that stands out to you?

Yes, not so necessarily for me, because I'm a bit more used to it. I know that everybody else struggled with the heat, so we went to Cairo in the middle of the summer. We decided to shoot at the Giza Plateau, which is phenomenal. What an incredible backdrop! The problem with it is that there is no shade anywhere, and you're in the middle of a desert with no shade. There's nothing to guide you, no trees to shade you, and it was 40 plus degrees-C in the shade that didn't exist. So that was a struggle for all of us. We had to make sure they were hydrated after every take, we had to finish a bottle of water, and constantly make sure that we're in the right place, because it was dangerous even to stay out in that heat too long.

Murder in the Embassy comes to theaters on November 14th.

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