'Black Panther' is mainly comprised of black actors
Ahmed first broke out on the big screen as Shafiq Rasul in Michael Winterbottom's 2006 docu-drama 'Road to Guantanamo,' which follows a trio of British Muslims who were held in Guantanamo Bay without charges for two years. It received rave reviews and put Ahmed's acting chops on the map.
The actor's parents hail from Karachi, Pakistan, but he was born and brought up in Wembley, London. He has a degree in PPE (philosophy, politics, and economics) from Christ Church, a constituent college of the University of Oxford, and later studied acting at the Central School of Speech and Drama.
One of his best-known raps is an early satirical track from 2006 called 'Post 9/11 Blues,' which attracted a lot of attention due to its politically sensitive lyrics and extremely catchy tune.
The not-yet-a-star was reportedly broke before his audition for 'Nightcrawler' and couldn't afford a plane ticket to an audition in Los Angeles. He nearly gave up his acting dreams but chose to bet on himself and spent the flight running lines. "It came when I thought I'd reached the end of the road. I wasn't really making any money, being offered that next tier of roles," the actor told The Mirror. Thankfully, he landed the role.
Ahmed continued to show off his intense acting chops in this American neo-noir psychological crime thriller alongside Jake Gyllenhaal, which he almost didn't make it to...
The actor-rapper released a nine-track mixtape in 2016 called 'Englistan' about the realities of multiculturalism, which accompanied the release of an autobiographical debut short he wrote and directed called 'Daytimer,' which was based on his childhood in '90s London.
Along with rapper Heems and producer Redinho, Ahmed (or Riz MC) created the hip-hop group Swet Shop Boys. They released their first self-titled EP in 2014 and later went on to launch a full-fledged album titled 'Cashmere' in 2016.
In 2017, Ahmed gave a powerful speech to the UK House of Commons about the importance of diversity on screen, warning that the lack of diverse stories is alienating young minorities and could be driving them towards fringe narratives of extremism and groups like ISIS.
Ahmed starred in this HBO miniseries as Nasir Khan, a Pakistani-American college student who gives a lift to a mysterious woman and is later charged with murder when she is found dead. He earned his first Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series for his stunning performance, also making him the first Muslim and the first South Asian to win a lead acting honor.
Ahmed then joined another famous franchise and gave a stellar performance as Aaron Killoor, a conscience-stricken Silicon Valley mogul, in the action-packed thriller film starring Matt Damon.
Ahmed emphasized the importance of the role of TV and film in ensuring different communities felt heard and valued in British society, explaining, "In the mind of the ISIS recruit, he's the next James Bond, right? Have you seen some of those ISIS propaganda videos, they are cut like action movies. Where is the counter narrative? Where are we telling these kids they can be heroes in our stories, that they are valued?"
He also explained that the lack of Asian faces and stories on TV had impacted him personally while growing up, making him believe it was impossible for him to become an actor. It was only because several people had helped to champion him, and offered financial aid, that he made it to drama school and landed his first film role.
The actor was also the impetus for the "Riz Test," formulated in 2018 by British researchers Sadia Habib and Shaf Choudry, which comprises a series of questions that examine the intentions and authenticity behind the depiction of Muslim characters. It's similar to the Bechdel test, but instead of asking questions about women, it asks, among other things, "Is the character talking about, the victim of, or the perpetrator of terrorism?" and "Is the character presented as a threat to a Western way of life?"
The actor and activist made it to the annual Time 100 list of the world's most influential people in 2017, and Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote in a short profile on the star, "To know him is to be inspired, engaged and ready to create alongside him."
In 2018, it was announced that Ahmed was teaming up with BBC Two to put out a new original drama series called 'Englistan,' created by him and produced by BBC Studios Drama London. The story follows three generations of a British Pakistani family as they pursue their dreams over four tumultuous decades.
In early March 2020, Ahmed released a short film which he co-created and starred in. It paints an unsettling, dystopian, not-so-unimaginable future, where British South Asian families are violently rounded up by a gun-toting gang, as if they were "being broken up with by the country they live in," as Ahmed described. The short won the BIFA for best British short film.
Due to his style and political "wokeness," Ahmed has long been described as an "internet boyfriend," one whose off-screen persona dazzles the social media crowds. So when, at the 2021 Oscars, Ahmed gently paused to fix his wife Fatima Farheen Mirza's hair, the short clip went viral and his fans only multiplied.
Ahmed said after 'Venom' his interest in acting changed from shape-shifting into other people to tapping into his own personal experience. He told Variety that wearing masks was much like his lifelong task of code-switching between cultural and class environments to fit other molds, but that he wasn't interested in wearing masks anymore. "I am enough," he said.
He also simultaneously released his second studio album also under the name 'The Long Goodbye,' which Pitchfork called a "compelling, unapologetic account of what it truly feels like to be brown and British in 2020."
Ahmed is an executive producer and voice actor on Jonas Poher Rasmussen's critically acclaimed animated documentary 'Flee,' which was nominated for Oscars in three different categories: documentary, animated, and international feature. The story follows a child refugee fleeing his home in Afghanistan to safety in Denmark.
Ahmed's production company, Left Handed Films, teamed up with the USC Annenberg Inclusion Initiative to release a research report that found that only 1.9% of characters in the top 200 films released from 2017-19 were Muslim, the majority of whom were immigrants or refugees who spoke no English or spoke with an accent, and wore religious garb. It uncovered a huge problem, as viewers couldn't see Muslims do regular things like fall in love, raise families, or come of age on the big screen.
"In all that he does, Riz demonstrates that an actor's contributions need not be confined to the dimensions of the screen," said BIFA. "The choices he makes both as a filmmaker, as a performer and as an activist highlight his continued commitment to building an industry that better represents the audiences it serves."
Sources: (The Hollywood Reporter) (Variety) (Pitchfork) (Pillars Fund)
See also: Famous actors who are also musicians
Ahmed then established an artist's fellowship with Pillars Fund, an organization that amplifies Muslim achievement and causes in the US. The fellowship offers mentorship, development, and a US$25,000 award to emerging Muslim creatives.
In his first shot at feature film writing, which he also produced and stars in, 'Mogul Mowgli' sees Ahmed as Zed, a rapper diagnosed with an autoimmune disease that forces him to return to England and reconcile with his Pakistani immigrant parents. Ahmed won the BIFA best debut screenwriter award for his stunning work.
In one of his best roles to date, Ahmed plays the character Ruben, a punk-metal drummer and recovering heroin addict struggling with hearing loss. To prepare, the actor spent nearly a year learning American Sign Language and drumming. The result was glorious, and critics poured in with appraisal.
His role in 'Sound of Metal' earned him Golden Globe, BAFTA, Critics Choice, and SAG nominations, and made Ahmed the first Muslim to be nominated for Best Actor at the Academy Awards. He was also the first Pakistani-origin person to be nominated in an acting category.
Ahmed joined the immensely popular sci-fi franchise as Bodhi Rook, the defecting Imperial pilot. It was a role that put him in front of more eyes than he'd ever reached before.
The actor played the coldly manipulative Omar in this 2010 British political satire black comedy film following a group of incompetent homegrown terrorist jihadis from Sheffield, South Yorkshire. It received positive reviews and though released on just 115 screens across the UK, the film was so successful at the box office on its opening weekend that it was then increased to 200 screens.
In this sci-fi flick, the actor plays Malik, a former Marine and father of two preparing his boys for an imminent alien invasion, a role for which he worked with a military consultant to better understand the psyche of a serviceman, whom Ahmed says is largely misunderstood.
In December 2021, Riz Ahmed received the British Independent Film Awards’ top honor this year, the Richard Harris Award. This put him alongside other UK greats like Kristin Scott Thomas, Judi Dench, Vanessa Redgrave, Daniel Day-Lewis, Helena Bonham Carter, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Julie Walters, John Hurt, Emma Thompson, Jim Broadbent, and Glenda Jackson.
Every year the prize is given to an actor who has “contributed significantly to British films throughout their career,” but Ahmed has done so much off-screen as well. Not only has he earned himself a spot at the top, but he’s also fighting to help other minorities make it alongside him. He has quickly become one of the most prominent British advocates for diversity on screen.
Ahmed's rise has meant not only that we get to enjoy the perfection of his craft, but we're also generating long-overdue conversations about diversity and Muslim representation in entertainment. And as if that weren’t enough, he’s also a rapper, a writer, a producer, and an established Hollywood heartthrob.
But it hasn't been an easy ride for the eloquent star. Click through to see how Riz Ahmed became Hollywood's latest leading man.
The rise of Riz Ahmed, Hollywood’s latest leading man
Get to know the British Pakistani actor, activist, and rapper
CELEBRITY Actors
In December 2021, Riz Ahmed received the British Independent Film Awards’ top honor, the Richard Harris Award. This put him alongside other UK greats like Kristin Scott Thomas, Judi Dench, Vanessa Redgrave, Daniel Day-Lewis, Helena Bonham Carter, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Julie Walters, John Hurt, Emma Thompson, Jim Broadbent, and Glenda Jackson.
Every year the prize is given to an actor who has “contributed significantly to British films throughout their career,” but Ahmed has done so much off-screen as well. Not only has he earned himself a spot at the top, but he’s also fighting to help other minorities make it alongside him. He has quickly become one of the most prominent British advocates for diversity on screen.
Ahmed's rise has meant not only that we get to enjoy the perfection of his craft, but we're also generating long-overdue conversations about diversity and Muslim representation in entertainment. And as if that weren’t enough, he’s also a rapper, a writer, a producer, and an established Hollywood heartthrob.
But it hasn't been an easy ride for the eloquent star. Click through to see how Riz Ahmed became Hollywood's latest leading man.