Riz Ahmed

Born on December 1, 1982, in Wembley, London, Rizwan Ahmed, also known as Riz MC, is a British Pakistani actor, rapper, and activist. He pursued his education at Merchant Taylors’ School, Northwood, through a scholarship program, and later graduated from Christ Church, Oxford University, with a degree in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (PPE). He further honed his craft at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama. Ahmed’s acting career began in independent films, gaining recognition for roles in projects such as “The Road to Guantanamo” (2006) and “Four Lions” (2010), for which he received British Independent Film Award nominations.

Ahmed’s breakthrough came with the critically acclaimed film “Nightcrawler” (2014) and subsequent roles in major productions like “Jason Bourne” (2016) and “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” (2016), where he played Bodhi Rook. In television, his performance as Nasir “Naz” Khan in the HBO miniseries “The Night Of” (2016) earned him widespread acclaim, including a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie. This achievement made him the first Asian and Muslim to win in the category, and the first South Asian male to win an acting Emmy. He also received an Emmy nomination for his guest role in “Girls” (2017).

His career continued with significant roles such as Carlton Drake in “Venom” (2018) and Ruben Stone in “Sound of Metal” (2019), for which he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actor. In addition to acting, Ahmed is an accomplished musician, performing as Riz MC. He is part of the hip-hop duo Swet Shop Boys and released solo albums like “Microscope” (2011) and “The Long Goodbye” (2020), the latter accompanied by an Academy Award-winning short film. Ahmed is also a vocal advocate for diversity and co-created “The Riz Test” to highlight Muslim representation in media, and he actively supports Syrian and Rohingya refugees, leveraging his platform for social change.