Riz Ahmed Has Never Auditioned for Bond, but His Show ‘Bait’ Is a Chance to Throw Himself in the Mix

It seems like every actor, especially those from the United Kingdom, has had some sort of brush with playing James Bond. In his new Amazon series “Bait,” creator and star Riz Ahmed turns the fallout of a busted 007 audition on its head. The Oscar nominee stars as struggling actor Shah Latif who, at first, blows a shot at the coveted role. Until he gets another chance, and his public and private worlds implode from his online presence to his relationships with his Pakistani-British immigrant family.

“Bait,” which premiered three episodes at the 2026 Sundance Film Festival before it drops on Amazon Prime Video on March 25, is an industry and cultural satire with the freneticism of “The Studio” matched to Ahmed (and co-star Guz Khan’s) uniquely immigrant perspective.

“My elevator pitch at the time was: It’s about an out-of-work actor who somehow gets through to the last round of auditions…