Despite the movie hitting theaters literally today, much has already been said about Wuthering Heights, mostly by people who have not seen it. When the first trailer dropped in September, the internet had a field day: the costumes weren’t historically accurate, the music was anachronistic, it was too horny. (To which I say…can anything ever be too horny?) In truth, Emerald Fennell’s film is all those things, to its benefit. It’s a huge swing that had me levitating off my seat while watching—a maximalist fever dream and also a fun, chaotic ride.
The grounding force in the middle of it all is Shazad Latif as Edgar Linton. While Edgar’s character in the book is a “milquetoast sap” (Fennell’s words, not mine), he gets a much-needed update in this version. He’s everything Margot Robbie’s Cathy should want in a husband: surprisingly progressive and evolved for the time, obscenely wealthy, and a stabilizing force. Basically, the opposite of Jacob Elordi’s Heathcliff. Latif’s Edgar represents more of what love should look like, but as you know if you’ve read the book or seen any of the countless other film adaptations, Cathy’s choice between the two men isn’t quite that simple.
Latif sat down with Cosmopolitan to talk about that dynamic, why his character doesn’t put up a bigger fight for Cathy, and whether the idea of historical accuracy weighs on him as an actor.
(There are light spoilers below for Wuthering Heights.)
How did you find yourself in this role? Tell me about the casting process.
It was 2025. The audition comes in, and I was going to a friend’s stag party that weekend so I was like, Okay, I'll send a tape and it will be fine. They were like, “No, Emerald wants you to come in.” It was nerve-racking. Like, this is a big one. And then funnily enough, the casting director, her bus broke down. So she took ages to get there. So me and Emerald got to talk outside the room for a good half an hour and just break it down. She was getting the sense of me and it wasn’t awkward in the room, and it went really well. And she fought for me.
How did Emerald describe her take on the adaptation to you? Because it’s not the traditional version we’re used to seeing.
She was saying that it’s very hard to adapt this book. This book’s very old; it spans so long. There’s kids. There’s ghosts. She wanted to get across the feeling she had when she was 14, that feeling of love. I find watching myself generally quite awkward, but when I sat down and watched this as a proper movie, I wasn’t freaked out. I really went along for the visceral, emotional journey of it. And I did have that similar feeling of when Romeo and Juliet came out in ’97 and Titanic. For this generation, it could be that kind of thing. Everyone in the audience was crying.
It's interesting to think about how you would interpret this story as a 14-year-old versus as an adult. I can see how when you’re young, you’re like, Oh gosh, it’s so romantic. With Romeo and Juliet, too. And now as an adult, you’re like, This is so depressing.
Exactly. The 15-year-olds, they’re gonna see Jacob’s body when he’s moving hay and Margot Robbie and go, Oh, this is great. You have these characters who are all flawed or doing horrible things to each other, but you sort of understand. Every single person in the film manages to understand every single person’s angle and justification for doing what they do.
When you’re approaching Edgar, this character has a long literary history. What did you feel like you were able to bring to him that isn’t always included in readings of the book?
There was a phrase Emerald used to describe Edgar—it was “a milquetoast sap.” He’s the cuckold. He’s the guy that gets bullied in the kitchen. But she wanted to make him a credible threat, not just because he’s rich. Because he’s clever, he’s kind, he’s an advanced man. He doesn’t at first let jealousy destroy him. He’s letting this guy into his home who he knows that his wife is in love with. That is a very 2026 man. You know he’d be into polyamory right now. He’d be on the Feeld dating app.
This guy is an 1815 textiles merchant, but he’s Brown. He’s someone who’s repressed. And this danger of seeing this wild nature in Cathy, he lets in one little bit and it destroys his whole life.
I remember Emerald talking about this—you only buy into their love story if all the points of the triangle work. You see Cathy running into Edgar’s arms and he’s actually a great husband. In any other circumstance, he’d be a fantastic husband. And she does love him. It’s just, unfortunately, that Heathcliff is poisoning her way more.
The Lintons are painted as very “new money” in this adaptation. The clothes are ostentatious; the house is ostentatious. How did that influence your approach to your character?
This is someone who’s made a lot of money, and that’s his protection, that’s his safety. He probably doesn’t want to be hanging around a load of white people, so he has built this huge house and will just keep him and his ward in there and be the most gentlemanly he can be and be a very good businessman. Because if he makes one mistake, in my mind, you get hanged. He has to be the most English, the most rich, and that wa,y he can protect everything. Then as soon as that gets broken, when Cathy comes over his wall, it starts to unravel everything.
I love the big swings in production design and costume design here. How did the physical sets, their house, help you drop into the world?
Edgar is trying to seduce his wife. Oh, I’m so rich. I’m gonna do it in the most crazy way imaginable. I’m gonna make a wall of skin for you. The costumes Jackie Duran had made, we just jeweled everything up. We’re like, This guy’s gonna show it off. If you’re looking at my clothes, you’re not looking at me. But he’s a Brown man who’s become rich. He’s probably enjoying his money a little bit, and why not?
It was just fun to be in those sets. They were so wild, so crazy. And when you first walk on, you’re like, Wait, what? You’ve got a green carpet on the wall. But when you see it on camera, it just works. It looks absolutely stunning.
How do you interpret the dollhouse motif throughout the film?
The dollhouse, I think that was just a great way of, again, storytelling. It’s an imaginative way of transitioning scenes and also just the world that they live in, this sterilized version of what it is. And as soon as it goes wrong again, it starts to crack.
When Cathy ends up at Edgar’s house with the sprained ankle, we as viewers don’t see any of that time. What do you imagine happened between them in those weeks?
It was walks in the garden. Let me show you what my life’s like. I’m not going to overpressure you. This is what we do. We read, we have people over. There’s music being played. We’re just getting to know each other. And she’s doing the same thing because she needs the money. She’s trying to get married. So it would have been a classic courtship of that time. He’s going to lavish her with gifts and food and chocolate, all that stuff.
Do you think Edgar’s intentions in marrying Cathy are pure?
Yes. I think he’s struck by her when he sees her and it’s that moment of, Oh, god, I’ve been keeping everything safe and secure and I’ve been focusing on work and I’ve made myself to the top of one industry. Wait, I haven’t been focusing on my own health. And it could be selfish, like, Oh, I’m ready for love now because I’m rich. It’s what people do when they’re in a good place in their life. They turn romantic because they can. But he’s longing to meet someone he loves. He sees her as something he can box up. His intentions are pure, but he chose the wrong woman.
When Heathcliff comes back, how long do you think it takes Edgar to realize that Cathy is desperately in love with him?
That first dinner scene, he’s like, That’s the Heathcliff she was talking about. He’s the hottest man on the planet. And he’s immediately going to think it. He knows that they’re childhood friends and they were really close. But he’s like, It’s all good. I’m married anyway; he can’t do anything.
And then it starts to grow back again when she starts behaving weird. I think you’d sense it because she’s so in love with Heathcliff.
Your character feels, in many ways, like the moral center of the film. How did you think about his morality?
This is a man who’s trying to overcome his jealousy. He’d rather have Heathcliff around and Cathy be happy just so that their marriage would work. He’s that kind of guy.
I do think he is a moral center in some ways, and that’s how I had to think because how do you play a guy who’s letting this happen? And at the end, he even gives Heathcliff a little tap on the shoulder, like, Hey, man, go and see the woman you love. That’s a very forward-thinking thing.
Why do you think he decides to do that? He’s so much more forgiving than I think I would be.
What’s left? He’s like, my whole life’s destroyed now. Why even get angry at Heathcliff? Love is truly letting someone go. To really go, they’ve been through something that I can’t really understand, let them go and see that through. If we had more people out there in the world like him, there would be less problems.
It’s very evolved. It’s fun to play that because he gets angry at Cathy and then he’s really sorry for her. The flip between is what love is, I guess.
I’m so intrigued by the dynamic between Edgar and Nelly. Do you think he understands the manipulation that he’s a victim to her?
No. He thinks they were friends growing up. She’s now working for me. I trust her. She’s good at her job. She’s Brown as well. Until the scene later on where he’s like, Why is Cathy so sick? And there were other scenes where that was more clear that he understood she was getting sicker that got cut. I don’t think he knows until that moment when he goes into her room. He’s a trusting guy.
What do you think Nelly’s motivations are in that moment?
She's deep down going, I wanna hurt you so bad. And then not realizing how far she’s gone, she lets it get too far. Like, you destroyed my whole life. I had to sit in the background my whole life. Nelly’s story is so sad because she’s a lord’s daughter, but she has watch someone else have a good life.
It’s interesting to think about Nelly, the daughter of a lord, in contrast with Edgar, too. Like, here comes this new-money guy. That could be another layer of resentment for her.
Yeah. Or the flip side as well could be, I know how to manipulate this guy. He’s got a great house and great money. She says to Cathy, like, “What is wrong? This is great. Don’t fuck this up.”
Whose love for Cathy is more pure? Edgar’s or Heathcliff’s?
Cathy and Heathcliff are two trauma-bonded, toxic relationship, passion junkies and Edgar can’t really compete with the intensity of that, but obviously it’s destructive. You can say Edgar’s is more pure because it’s a safer love. It’s more protective love. It’s not vengeful. They’re both pure. They’re just coming from the complete opposite ends of the spectrum.
Heathcliff and Cathy’s is a violent love because that’s how they were brought up. Edgar’s is safety. Generally, relationships that last are more like that. But are they exciting? Is it good in the bedroom? Who knows?
There’s been a lot of conversation around this film in regard to historical or period accuracy. From your perspective as an actor, what felt the most important to honor when you were stepping into this world?
The most important is to honor what Emerald’s vision is because we’re coming there to support her. She’s written the movie and it’s, What’s my function in the story?
It’s important to get the feeling across. And that’s the beauty of an adaptation. It’s Emerald’s adaptation.
That’s what I find really beautiful about films based on classic novels. Every 10 or 15 years, you’ll get someone else’s interpretation. If you want something more traditional, you’ll probably get a new version 10 years from now. Maybe sooner.
Or you can watch the old one. Watch the Laurence Olivier one. You’re good.
What do you feel like about this adaptation is specifically 2026?
It's the most emotional version we’ve ever seen. It’s visceral—that word is so honoring of what it is. Edgar makes it a bit 2026, the music, everything. Sometimes things just come at the right time. And all of the pieces of this one, I feel like, are right for now, but you can’t really explain why.
All I can pray is that people enjoy it or feel something. I mean, I felt something.
