ISLAMABAD: Veteran Pakistani actor Humayun Saeed made history Sunday night after it was announced he had been cast in Season 5 of the hit series “The Crown,” the first Pakistani to bag a role in a Netflix original, unleashing messages of congrats and best wishes from celebrities and social media users.
Khan, a British-Pakistani heart surgeon who practiced at London’s Royal Brompton Hospital, has said he was in a relationship with Princes Diana from 1995-1997 but the pair broke up after she met Dodi Fayed, Egyptian film producer and the son of billionaire Mohamed Al Fayed.
In a statement to the Metropolitan Police, which was submitted in 2008 to an inquest into Princess Diana’s death, Khan said he had considered a life with Princess Diana, but the situation with the paparazzi, who hounded her every move, would make it untenable. 
On Monday, ecstatic fans of Saeed took to Twitter to express their joy over his casting in The Crown. 
“So proud of you my brother,” singer, actor and TV personality Fakhr-e-Alam said on Twitter. 

Khizra Munir, Co-Founder and CEO of CoPakistan, a young co-working space, gave props to Saeed for bagging the role purely on merit:

Twitter account @LadySaga was happy simply that an actor from Pakistan had made it to The Crown:

Momina credited Humayun Saeed for putting in the work for almost two decades and lashed out at critics for bashing him.:

User @MaryamFul asked people to “stop hating” Saeed and explained why it was great news that he had been cast as Dr. Hasnat: 

Others also joked over the casting, saying Saeed, who often plays men much younger than his actual age opposite very young actresses, would finally play a middle-aged man.

Humayun Saeed debuted as an actor in 1999 with Urdu-language film “Inteha” and has enjoyed a distinguished career across film and television. He is known for adventure-comedy “Jawani Phir Nahi Ani” (2015), for which he won Pakistan’s ARY award for best actor, and its 2018 sequel “Jawani Phir Nahi Ani 2.” Other notable roles include romantic comedy “Punjab Nahi Jaungi” (2017, pictured), which he co-produced, and science fiction film “Project Ghazi” (2019).