The New Yorker Radio Hour Chloé Zhao on “Hamnet,” Which Is Nominated for Eight Academy Awards
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Mar 15, 2026 
Chloé Zhao, filmmaker known for intimate, nature-infused dramas and an Oscar winner for Nomadland, discusses bringing Hamnet to screen. She talks about adapting Maggie O’Farrell’s novel, using nature as an emotional guide, shaping Paul Mescal’s restrained Shakespeare, and balancing literary adaptations with franchise IP.
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How Hamnet Landed With Chloé Zhao
- Chloé Zhao first declined Hamnet until Paul Mescal told her he loved the book and pushed her to read it.
- She was driving through New Mexico when Amblin called, said it was about Shakespeare's wife and son, and she initially said no before meeting Mescal.
The Novel As A Cinematic Blueprint
- Maggie O'Farrell's novel supplied a clear internal blueprint that made cinematic externalization straightforward for Zhao.
- Zhao felt the book already mapped characters' inner landscapes and shared a rhythmic heartbeat similar to her filmmaking voice.
Nature As Emotional Practice
- Zhao links her fear of death to a lifelong need to use nature in her films as a source of embodied safety and spiritual oneness.
- She shifted from wide plains to intimate forests in her 40s to force stillness and confront inner shadows during Hamnet's creation.
