Ritz Ahmed Isi Ahmed is an award-winning British-Pakistani actor and rapper.
Who is Ritz Ahmed?
Born on 1 December 1982 in Wembley, north-east London, Ritzwan-Ahmed is a British Pakistani actor and rapper who started out as an independent filmmaker and later made his mark on major films, including Nightcrawler (2014), Jason Byrne (2016) and Rogue One: Star Wars (2016). He was the first Muslim performer to be nominated for an Oscar for Best Actor for The Sound of Metal (2019) and won the Oscar for Best Live-Action Short Film The Long Farewell in 2022. He was also the first Muslim man to win an Emmy Award for Acting, winning the Outstanding Actor Trophy for a limited number of episodes or films for The Night Of (2016).
In addition to acting, Ahmed is a member of rap group Sweet Shop Boys and Halflife, under the pseudonym Riz MC. He made it to the Billboard charts in 2017 with the video "Immigrants (We Get the Job Done)" from Hamilton Mixtape, sung by Daveed Diggs and K'naan to raise awareness of U.S. immigration policy.
Ahmed also advocated against the perpetuation of Muslim stereotypes in Hollywood through the Blueprint for Muslim Inclusion.
Early life and education
The son of Pakistani parents, Ahmed spoke Urdu from an early age and learned to speak English when he started school at the age of 6.
He told The Guardian that he was so filled with "volcanic energy" at school that he even put a chair in the window at one point. His teachers help him direct this energy to extracurricular activities such as debate and drama. He told the newspaper: "For me, this is really, really, really a real treatment. "It's a space where anything is possible."
Ahmed later studied philosophy, politics and economics at Oxford University, where he performed a few performances. Although he never expected to be accepted, he applied for a one-year Master of Arts in Classical Performing Arts at the Central School of Speech and Drama in London.
Lack of representation and emigration to the United States
Ahmed never thought acting could be a viable career for him, as in the mid-2000s there were very few roles for Men in South Asia, England. In 2007, when Slumdog Millionaire appeared, he saw it as his only chance, so when the protagonist was won by Dev Patel, Ahmed thought all hopes were dashed, the Guardian reported.
Prior to that, he had been working in independent films such as The Road to Guantanamo (2006), The Flower Transfer (2008), Four Lions (2010), Trishner (2011) and Morbid Manor (2012), but by 2013 he felt his development in the UK had slowed down. A fellow Briton encouraged him to try it out in Hollywood.
"I remember chatting with Idris Elba in London and thinking, 'Man, I'm not going to go to America.' What will they do with people like me? "It's scary, this idea of not having a clear example or being portrayed in front of you," he told Variety. But Elba said he felt the same way and told him not to categorize himself, saying, "What do you have to lose?"
Mainstream success and emmy winning
Ahmed took a gamble, withdrew all his savings and headed to Los Angeles. He soon played the role of Rick in 2014's Nightcrawler starring Jack Gyllenhaal. But what really made him famous was in 2016, when he played Aaron Carroll in the blockbuster "Jason Byrne"; Bodhi Rock in "Inception: The Story of Star Wars"; and HBO crime miniseries "Night", in which he played Nasir Khan, a college student accused of murder. The performance brought him into the awards section, where he won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Actor in a Limited Series or Series in 2017. The award also made him the first Muslim and the first South Asian to receive major performance honors. That same year, he was also nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actor in a Comedy Series for his appearance in the Episode "Everything I Want" in The Girl.
"After Fortnite, I felt a sense of motivation," he told Variety. "The roller coaster nature of the industry keeps you on your guard and stops you from being complacent."