Meet Riz Ahmed, first Muslim actor to be nominated for Oscars Best Actor Category
The Oscars will be held on April 25 (the early hours of April 26 in India).
The nominations for the 93rd Academy Awards were announced by global star Priyanka Chopra and singer Nick Jonas on Monday.
Among the long list of nominees for various categories was Riz Ahmed, a British actor and musician who created history by becoming the first Muslim to be nominated for the Academy Award's Best Actor category for his role in the movie 'Sound of Metal'.
Ahmed, of Pakistani origins, essayed the role of a rock drummer who loses his hearing alongside Olivia Cooke and Paul Raci in the film.
The Oscars will be held on April 25 (the early hours of April 26 in India). The show will blend virtual and live-action presentation, and the host is yet to be officially announced.
Meanwhile, let's take a look at Riz's profile in brief and how he reacted to the nomination.
Riz Ahmed scripted history after he was nominated for the Academy Award's Best Actor category for his role in the movie 'Sound of Metal'. He is the first Muslim to be nominated in this category.
Soon after the nominations were out, Riz Ahmed took to his social media handle to share his feelings. Alongside a series of images from BTS of 'Sound of Metal', he wrote, "Wow! I'm honoured to be nominated by my fellow actors alongside such inspiring performances and am grateful to the Academy for their support and encouragement. I’m equally thrilled for our visionary writer-director Darius Marder and the brilliant Paul Raci, as well as our editor Mikkel, sound designer Nicolas, and co-writer Abe Marder. These nominations represent the time, generosity and talents of so many — all of our incredible cast, crew, producers, and in particular, I’d like to thank my mentors in the drumming, addiction recovery, and D/deaf communities. Sound of Metal is about how a health crisis can cut you off from your life and loved ones, and force you to grow in unexpected ways. In a challenging year for so many, I hope this story can inspire us to forge new and deeper connections with ourselves and others (sic)."
In a 2016 open letter for The Guardian, Riz Ahmed had opened up about being 'typecast as terrorist' at Luton Airport when he was there to attend the Berlin Film Festival for his debut film which had won a prestigious award. From being called a 'Paki' to being 'labelled a Muslim', Riz has had all sorts of ugly experiences. In his open letter in 2016, years after the incident took place, Riz wrote, "I found myself as helplessly cornered, it was in a windowless room at Luton airport. My arm was in a painful wrist-lock and my collar pinned to the wall by British intelligence officers. It was "post 9/11", and I was now labelled a Muslim." However, the experiences over the years, wherein he has also had difficulties in getting a US visa among other things, haven't left any bitter memories. In fact, in his 2016 letter, he wrote, "Don’t get me wrong: although my US airport experience is smoother, I still get stopped before boarding a plane at Heathrow every time I fly to the U.S. But now I find it hilarious rather than bruising."
Riz Ahmed started his acting career in 2006 with Michael Winterbottom's 'Road to Guantanamo' in which he played the role of Shafiq. He then went on to star in several films such as 'Nightcrawler', Mira Nair’s Reluctant Fundamentalist Shifty 'Venom', 'Mogul Mowgli' among others.
Besides films, Riz Ahmed has also starred in television series such as 'The NIght Of', 'The OA' and 'Girls' among others.
Born in 1982 to a British-Pakistani family in Wembley, Riz Ahmed's family moved to England from Karachi in 1970s. Not surprisingly, Riz comes from a family of firsts. One of his ancestors, Sir Shah Muhammad Sulaiman, was the first Muslim to become the Chief Justice of the Allahabad High Court under British rule over undivided India.