I was shopping in Morrisons when Pierce Brosnan called about Prince Naseem film

Amir El-Masry takes on the role of British boxer ‘Prince’ Naseem Hamed in Giant (Picture: Sam Taylor Inc) When you’ve got former James Bond star Pierce Brosnan in your corner – quite literally – then you know someone’s got your back.  It was something actor Amir El-Masry discovered on Giant, the vibrant new boxing drama based around the rise of ‘Prince’ Naseem Hamed. The cocksure British Muslim world champion featherweight boxer dominated the sport in the late ’90s – but surprisingly, this is the first time his story’s been told on screen.  The London-raised El-Masry, who is best known for playing the young Mohamed Al-Fayed in The Crown, had never boxed before and spent five weeks training 12 hours a day, only to dislocate his finger just before he was due to film some of Naz’s killer bouts. ‘I was devastated,’ he recalls. ‘They popped my finger back into the socket. But my hand was massive. It was swelling.’  Fortunately, Brosnan – who plays Naz’s long-standing trainer Brendan Ingle – stepped in, telling his co-star about the time he seriously injured his knee filming a stunt for 007 movie Die Another Day. ‘He came up to me and said, “Nothing else matters besides your health. Don’t worry about these fights.” And it put everything into perspective – you can’t overly exert yourself.’  Brosnan wasn’t the only icon behind Giant. It’s executive produced by the legendary Sylvester Stallone – the man who practically invented the boxing movie with Rocky. ‘For him to put his stamp on a boxing film is the ultimate certificate,’ says El-Masry. ‘He’s never put his kind of stamp of approval on any sports movie. And for him to do that directly after Rocky and [spin-off movie] Creed is a massive compliment.’ No doubt Stallone recognised something in Hamed’s story. ‘People love to see the zero-to-hero arc,’ says El-Masry. ‘And they like seeing someone who’s come from a very difficult circumstance and is overcoming it. And a sports movie is the best way to tell that story. It’s motivational, you come out of the cinema feeling inspired. Rocky did that perfectly, and also his own life… Sylvester Stallone’s real life emulated that as well.’ El-Masry stars alongside Pierce Brosnan (R), who he says was a huge support (Picture: Sam Taylor Inc) Then, of course, there’s the question of Naz, a boxer whose quick feet and goading style were renowned for tormenting his opponents. ‘Naseem Hamed, for me, was an idol growing up,’ revealed El-Masry, who said it was between being a boxer and an actor when he was a boy. ‘For me to put a young Muslim man in Great Britain who overcame so many trials and tribulations to become world champion is inspiring in itself.’ One thing is for sure, Hamed can’t grumble about El-Masry’s nimble performance. The actor worked with Polly Bennett, a well-known movement coach who previously helped Rami Malek transform into Queen singer Freddie Mercury for Bohemian Rhapsody. Even the scene where Naz is interviewed by Chris Evans on his 90s show, TFI Friday, is indistinguishable from the real thing. ‘I literally studied that interview movement for movement,’ El-Masry says. Naz, who competed professionally between 1992 and 2002, wasn’t involved in the making of the movie. But has he seen it? ‘He has given us his blessing…or rather, we’re still discussing his blessing,’ chuckles director Rowan Athale. ‘Naz has seen the film. I personally took it to where he lives in Dubai and showed it to him in a cinema there. And then he asked that back in the UK, we show it to him and his wife and his family. We were very respectful towards him.’ Naz is a former world champion featherweight boxer (Picture: Getty Images) Still, the film doesn’t soft soap Naz’s story, showing how he split from trainer Ingle, the man who discovered him when he was just a seven-year-old scrawny kid living in working-class Sheffield.  ‘They’re a pair of dreamers from the backstreets that thought they could be something, and then very quickly became something,’ says Athale. ‘But then very quick success tore them apart, and they began to resent each other for constantly being in each other’s shadow.’ Giant: Key details Director Rowan Athale Wrtiter Rowan Athale Cast Amir El-Masry, Pierce Brosnan, Katherine Dow Blyton, Olivia Barrowclough, Elika Ashoori Rating 15 Runtime 110 minutes Release date In UK cinemas from January 9, 2026 The wealthier Naz got, the more enamoured he became with money and riches, the film suggests, causing the split with Ingle. ‘It’s a tale as old as time,’ adds El-Masry. ‘As soon as money comes into the equation, the devil is at work. I think that’s commonplace in any scenario, even in the acting world. There was a lot of temptation about going to America and changing a trainer and all that stuff… I think, sadly, that’s very prevalent when you see success.’ Not that success changes everyone, as the down-to-earth Brosnan showed. Athale still has to pinch himself that he got the Irish actor on board. ‘I think the key to that was his beloved wife, Keely [Shaye Smith], who tends to read a lot of material for him. She read it a few times and insisted that he had to read it that weekend and he did.’  Naz’s career is being brought to the big screen this January (Picture: Getty Images) Director Rowan Athale is still pinching himself about bringing Giant to life (Picture: Getty Images) Brosnan then called him out of the blue, just as he was doing the weekly shop. ‘I was in the Otley Morrisons in Yorkshire, and my phone starts ringing,’ says Athale. ‘And then there’s Pierce at the other end…I thought was being wound up at first!’  Brosnan even took it upon himself to develop the opening scene, as Ingle is spinning tunes at a youth club disco – and starts throwing some moves to Sweet’s glam rock classic ‘Blockbuster’.  POLL Poll Will you be seeing Giant in the cinema? Yes, count me inCheck No, not one for meCheck ‘He said, “Okay, well, look, I’m gonna do some big dad dancing. Do you think it’s gonna be too much?”’ recalls Athale. Needless to say, it was good enough to see Brosnan on the next Strictly Come Dancing. ‘It was brilliant. I said, “Don’t change a thing.”’ El-Masry, who calls his beloved co-star a ‘leader’, couldn’t quite get his head round acting opposite Brosnan. ‘It was really surreal at one point when I was in the ring with him, and I was like, “Oh my gosh, I’m fighting James Bond!”’ Whether that puts El-Masry in the frame as the next Bond villain – or even Bond – remains to be seen.  For now, he’s just glad he’s getting to tell the story of boxing legend ‘Prince’ Naseem. ‘It’s someone whose story is being told,’ he says, ‘finally.’  Giant is in cinemas on January 9. Got a story? If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us celebtips@metro.co.uk, calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.