The New Yorker Radio Hour

Chloé Zhao on “Hamnet,” Her Film About William Shakespeare’s Grief

December 7, 2025·23 min·7-min readinterviewarts
Podzilla Summary (7 min)
TLDR
Chloe Zhao’s film Hamnet, based on Maggie O’Farrell’s novel, reimagines a young William Shakespeare not as a verbose literary genius but as a brooding, emotionally repressed man grappling with grief after the death of his son. Drawing from her own neurodivergence and deep connection to

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Guest

C

Chloe Zhao

interview on The New Yorker Radio Hour

Mentions

Books, people, and resources mentioned in this episode.

People

Chloe ZhaoMaggie O'FarrellPaul MescalMichael ShulmanLukasz ZalWong Kar-wai

Books

Hamnetby Maggie O'Farrell

Companies

AmblinKodansha

Products & Tools

Kodansha Studios

Topics

ArtBook ReviewsBooksFilm CriticismLiterary FictionMental Health

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