In Variety‘s November issue, actor and cover star Riz Ahmed, 38, discusses his success, the advice from his influences, and his mission to better Muslim representation on film.
According to Ahmed, it was Idris Elba who got him to move to Los Angeles early on in his career.
“I remember having a chat with Idris Elba in London thinking, Man, I’m not going to go to America. What are they going to do with someone like me over there? It was terrible, this idea of no clear example or something that’s been carved out before you,” he explained. “He said to me, ‘Don’t categorize yourself. What have you got to lose?’”
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And once he arrived, Ahmed didn’t think he’d actually breakthrough — until HBO’s “The Night Of”.
“I didn’t really think a career was viable for me until 10 years into it, so early on I felt like I had to work on developing a lot of range,” he said. “After ‘The Night Of’ popped, I felt a sense of momentum. It happens to a lot of people. The roller-coaster nature of this business keeps you on your toes and stops you from getting complacent.”
But now, with some big films under his belt and an Oscar nod, Ahmed wants to bring better representation to the Muslim community.
“This isn’t something that I’m going to solve on my own,” he said. “It’s going to take all of us to come together. It can sometimes be draining. I would much rather be discussing my creative craft and my artistic inspirations, but I feel a responsibility to speak out and to open the door for others, empower people to tell their own stories.”
Read more from Ahmed at Variety.com.
