Riz Ahmed

Riz Ahmed Photo

RIZ AHMED

Date of Birth: December 1, 1982

Rizwan "Riz" Ahmed, also known as Riz MC, is a British Pakistani actor and rapper. Born in London, Riz star attained a degree in Philosophy, Politics and Economics before studying acting at the Central School of Speech and Drama at the University of London. He did stage work in several productions and delved into a music career. In 2006, he released a rap track entitled “Post 9/11 Blues,” which was banned from British airplay for “politically sensitive” lyrics. Riz released his debut album MICroscope in 2011.

His film debut was in the war drama/documentary The Road to Guantanamo (2006), playing the role of Shafiq. Riz acted on the TV series Wired (2008) and Dead Set (2008), and in several TV movies such The Path to 9/11, Freefall and Criminal Justice .

Riz played the title role as a young crack cocaine dealer based in London in the feature film Shifty. Other features include Four Lions (2010), Ill Manors (2011) and The Reluctant Fundamentalist (2012).

In 2013, he filmed a role alongside Eric Bana and Rebecca Hall in the thriller Close Circuit. He then appeared opposite Jake Gyllenhaal in the thriller Nightcrawler (2014). He appeared in the action sequel Jason Bourne (2016), starring Matt Damon, the drama Una (2016), starring Rooney Mara, the crime drama City of Tiny Lights (2016), opposite Billie Piper, and the first standalone Star Wars film, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016), starring Felicity Jones.

Most recently, Riz returned to theaters in the western The Sisters Brothers (2019) where he appeared alongside John C. Reilly and Joaquin Phoenix, and also in the film Venom (2018) with Tom Hardy.

In 2017, Riz became the first male South Asian actor to be awarded an Emmy, which he won for his role in the series The Night Of.

Riz received his first Oscar nomination and his second Golden Globe nomination for his role in Sound of Metal (2020), in which he played a musician slowly losing his hearing.

FILMOGRAPHY:

Mogul Mowgli (2020)
Sound of Metal (2020)
Weathering with You (2019)
The Sisters Brothers (2018)
Venom (2018)
Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016)
City of Tiny Lights (2016)
Una (2016)
Jason Bourne (2016)
Nightcrawler (2014)
Closed Circuit (2013)
The Reluctant Fundamentalist (2012)
Ill Manors (2012)
Black Gold (2011)
Trishna (2011)
Centurion (2010)
Four Lions (2010)
Rage (2009)
Shifty (2008)
The Road to Guantánamo (2006)