Riz Ahmed facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Riz Ahmed
Ahmed at the 2025 Cannes Film Festival
Born	Rizwan Ahmed (1982-12-01) 1 December 1982 (age 42) London, England
Alma mater	Christ Church, Oxford Royal Central School of Drama
Occupation	Actor rapper
Years active	2006–present
Spouse(s)	Fatima Farheen ​ (m. 2020)​
Awards	Full list
Musical career
Also known as	Riz MC
Genres	Hip hop political hip hop British hip hop alternative rap conscious qawwali
Years active	2006–present
Labels	Battered Crosstown Rebels Tru Thoughts Customs Mongrel

Rizwan Ahmed (born December 1, 1982) is a famous British actor and rapper. He has won many awards for his work, including an Academy Award and a Primetime Emmy Award. He has also been nominated for two Golden Globe Awards and two British Academy Film Awards. In 2017, Time magazine named him one of the 100 most influential people in the world.

Ahmed studied acting at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. He started his career in independent films like The Road to Guantanamo (2006) and Four Lions (2010). His big break came with the movie Nightcrawler (2014). This led to roles in major films like Jason Bourne and the Star Wars movie Rogue One in 2016.

For his role in the HBO series The Night Of, Ahmed won a Primetime Emmy Award. He later starred in the superhero film Venom (2018). In the drama Sound of Metal (2019), he played a drummer who loses his hearing. This role earned him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor.

As a rapper, Ahmed is part of the group Swet Shop Boys. His music has been very successful. His song "Immigrants (We Get the Job Done)" from The Hamilton Mixtape won an MTV Video Music Award. He also won an Academy Award for a short film he co-wrote, called The Long Goodbye.

Ahmed is also an activist. He uses his music and fame to talk about important issues. He has helped raise money for children affected by the war in Syria and for Rohingya refugees.

Early Life and School

Riz Ahmed was born on December 1, 1982, in Wembley, London. His family is of British Pakistani background, and his parents moved to England from Karachi, Pakistan, in the 1970s.

Ahmed was a bright student and earned a scholarship to attend Merchant Taylors' School. He later went to the Oxford University and studied Philosophy, Politics, and Economics. At first, he found it hard to fit in at Oxford. But instead of leaving, he started organizing parties to celebrate different cultures. After Oxford, he studied acting at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama.

Acting Career

First Roles

Ahmed's first major film was The Road to Guantánamo (2006). In 2008, he starred in the horror series Dead Set. In 2009, he played the main character in the movie Shifty. He was nominated for a British Independent Film Award for Best Actor for this role.

Becoming a Star

In 2010, Ahmed starred in the comedy Four Lions, which earned him another award nomination. He also appeared in the historical movie Centurion. In 2012, he had a leading role in the film Ill Manors.

Ahmed at the 2014 Toronto Film Festival

His breakout role was in the 2014 film Nightcrawler. He played Rick, a young homeless man. To prepare for the part, Ahmed met with homeless people in Los Angeles to understand their lives. His performance was highly praised by critics.

In 2016, he joined the Star Wars universe as Bodhi Rook, a pilot in Rogue One. The movie was a huge success, earning over $1 billion worldwide. That same year, he starred in the HBO series The Night Of. For his amazing performance, he won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor. This made him the first Asian and first Muslim man to win in that category.

Ahmed at the premiere of Rogue One in 2016

In 2018, Ahmed played the villain Carlton Drake in the superhero movie Venom. By 2018, the films he had appeared in had earned a total of $2.4 billion at the box office.

Recent Work

Ahmed starred in the 2020 film Sound of Metal. He played a rock drummer who suddenly goes deaf. Critics loved his performance, and he was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actor. He was the first Muslim actor to be nominated for this award.

In 2021, he co-wrote and starred in the film Mogul Mowgli. He also won an Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film for the short film The Long Goodbye.

In 2023, he voiced the character Ballister Boldheart in the Netflix animated film Nimona. He also starred in the movie Fingernails.

Music Career

Ahmed performing at Occupy London NYE Party 2011.

Ahmed began his music career as a teenager, inspired by hip hop music. He performed on local radio stations and in rap battles. He became known as Riz MC.

In 2006, he released a rap song called "Post 9/11 Blues." The song was about his experiences after the 9/11 attacks. At first, it was banned from the radio because some people thought it was too political. But this only made it more popular online.

He released his first album, Microscope, in 2011. In 2014, he formed the hip hop group Swet Shop Boys with rapper Heems. Their album Cashmere was released in 2016 to great reviews.

In 2016, his song "Immigrants (We Get the Job Done)" was featured on The Hamilton Mixtape. The album went to number one on the Billboard 200 charts. At the same time, his movie Rogue One was number one at the box office. The song's music video won an MTV Video Music Award.

His second album, The Long Goodbye, was released in 2020.

The Riz Test

In 2018, two researchers were inspired by a speech Ahmed gave about the lack of diversity in movies and TV. They created a test called "The Riz Test" to check how Muslim characters are shown in media. The test asks five questions to see if a Muslim character is based on a negative stereotype.

The five questions of the Riz Test are:

1. Is the character shown as a terrorist, or a victim of terrorism?
2. Is the character shown as being irrationally angry?
3. Is the character shown as being against modern life?
4. Is the character shown as a threat to Western culture?
5. If the character is a man, is he unfair to women? If a woman, is she shown as being oppressed by men?

Ahmed said he was glad the test was created and that it was "much needed."

Activism

As a Muslim, Ahmed has spoken out against negative stereotypes of Muslims. He has used his platform to raise money for Syrian refugee children and for Rohingya refugees from Myanmar.

In 2023, during the Gaza war, he called for an end to the bombing of civilians in Gaza. He signed a letter with other artists asking for a ceasefire.

Personal Life

Ahmed married American novelist Fatima Farheen Mirza in 2020.

Filmography

Film

Television

Discography

Studio albums

Mixtapes

See also

• List of British Pakistanis
• List of Academy Award winners and nominees from Great Britain
• List of actors with Academy Award nominations