SPIDER-MAN Reboot Finds Its Villain In Irrfan Khan

I've made no secret of my love for India's finest actor, Irrfan Khan.  In the last few years he has creeped onto the international scene with performances in Mira Nair's The Namesake, Wes Anderson's The Darjeeling Limited, Danny Boyle's Best Picture winner, Slumdog Millionaire, and most recently HBO's In Treatment.  Well, it looks like Hollywood finally sees the potential in Irrfan, and he has been chosen to play Nels Van Atter, the primary baddie of the new Andrew Garfield Spider-man.

I will admit, I don't know anything about Nels Van Atter, and he seems to be something of a minor character in the overall Spider-man mythos, but I guess the new producers wanted something new.  In any case, I couldn't be more excited about this casting decision.  Up until this point, my interest in the Spider-man reboot has been very small, but the idea of getting Irrfan Khan in front of millions of Americans on a big screen makes me giddy.

Khan hasn't played too many villains in the past, although he did win a Filmfare award for Best Villain in 2003's Haasil, and I suppose the argument could be made for his villain status even in Slumdog Millionaire, but nothing on the order of a super villain.  He is known for his understated style, something of a rarity in Bollywood and Indian cinema in general, so it will be interesting to see how he plays this role.