Dino Morea on preparing for the 'vicious' Shaybani Khan in 'The Empire'

Touted to be one of the biggest, if not the biggest show to be coming out from the web world in India, The Empire is all set to be releasing on Disney+ Hotstar soon. While there is an array of actors playing different characters in the show as it presents an alluring ensemble cast, one of the most interesting ones in this mix has to that of actor Dino Morea's Shaybani Khan.

Playing the antagonist in the show, Morea's Shaybani Khan is vicious, menacing and as negative as a human being can be. To be able to portray such a character comes with its own set of challenges. In an exclusive conversation with India Forums, we asked Morea as to how did he prepare for this role and how did he approach the character.

Morea said, "This is the first time I am playing such a character. When, I first read the role, I thought this was an opportunity of a lifetime. The character is cunning, vicious, vile and every negative trait you can imagine."

He added, "When it comes to me, I always associate an animal with the characters I play. While, I wanted to treat Shaybani Khan as a lion, Mitakshara (Kumar, the director) wanted it to treated as a panther. Finally, we zeroed down on treating as a panther, and I am not kidding, I literally watched a lot of National Geographic to understand the body language of a panther and adapt it."

Sharing how he preps for the role, Morea said, "I have a special method to it. I had created a special playlist after reading the script. I associated different genres of songs to different scenes and created a special playlist for the same. For every scene, I would listen to a particular song depending on the scene; creating a mood and a specific energy for myself. This helped me a lot."

ALSO READ: Drashti Dhami on how she did not prep on first shoot day of 'The Empire'