TV & Movies
The movie star reflects on his trailblazing success as a British-Pakistani actor.
As a kid, Riz Ahmed had no problem picturing himself as an actor.
Thats the amazing thing about stories, Ahmed tells Bustle.
You imagine yourself into all kinds of peoples experiences.
In this monthsEncounter, he plays a father trying to save his children from deadly parasites.
InMogul Mowgli, which came out in September, hes a rapper battling an autoimmune disease.
I was adamant that I wanted to do the opposite of those roles.
Hes full of contradictions astute in some ways, naive in others, and irreparably mangled by the system.
You dont need to be a Pakistani Muslim to understand him.
He calls this triumph bittersweet, adding: Im aware that exceptions dont change the rules.
Yeah, I guess weve had a bit of a dry run with COVID, havent we?
Id probably use some of that experience.
But its difficult to say.
you might do your best, but ultimately our fate isnt fully in our hands.
So its a difficult question to answer.
I dont think there is a separate box that needs to be ticked regarding representation.
Its an organic outgrowth of the same criteria that we use to assess whether stories are good.
Do they extend humanity to everyone watching, and to those in the story?
So I feel like its the same thing.
The same things that make a good script are what make good representation.
So really, that was the only work available for me.
So I had made a commitment to myself to do that.
That really stayed with me, and there was no going back after that.
There wasnt really a choice.
Definitely, but there were also other actors too.
Same with Bruce Lee and Jackie Chan.
Those were their stories at their best.
Anyone can imagine themselves into them.
There is a realization I had that there is nothem its just us.
I was inspired by so many things growing up.
Youve established a fellowship with Pillars Fund that provides grants to emerging Muslim artists and creatives.
How do you envision this helping young Muslims in the arts?
Looking forward to the future, what sort of stories are you looking to tell that you havent yet?
Id love to get back into doing comedy.
I havent done that in a while.
Its been almost 12 years since I didFour Lions, which I loved doing.
This interview has been edited and condensed.
