Captain Nemo Is Indian? ‘Nautilus’ Helps Correct the Record.

In the 1870 novel “20,000 Leagues Under the Sea,” by Jules Verne, the submarine commander Captain Nemo is an often sullen recluse consumed by rage against the imperialist nation that murdered his wife and children. (That would be Britain.) In the 1954 Disney adaptation, in what is arguably his best-known screen representation, Nemo is still sullen, but the object of his outrage is much less clear.

Brought to life by the British actor James Mason, this Nemo plays melancholy tunes on his pipe organ, his anger now directed at a “hated nation” of capitalists and warmongers that seems a lot like Britain, yet goes conspicuously unnamed.

There have been dozens of screen adaptations of the adventure classic over the years, from feature films to TV series to radio plays. Despite their differences — and there have been many — a fairly uniform picture of Captain Nemo has emerged: brooding, relatively sedentary (to be fair, this is a guy who spends a good chunk of his time “under the sea”), 50s-ish, taciturn and almost always white.

The hero of the AMC series “Nautilus,” which premieres on Sunday, is not that Nemo.

He is young, for one, his story beginning with the maiden voyage of the Nautilus, decades before he has had a chance to become jaded and sour. He is also an action hero, battling with swords and cannons and rifles, going mano a mano with a giant squid and riding atop a mammoth harpooned whale swimming at full speed.

“I spent most of that day soaking wet on top of this mechanical whale,” said Shazad Latif, who plays Nemo. “They had to ferry my makeup artist over to me on this little paddle board for redos and touch-ups.”