Rizwan Ahmed is a British actor and rapper.
Born in Wembley, he attended Merchant Taylors’ School, Northwood, through a scholarship program.
He graduated from Christ Church, Oxford University, with a degree in Philosophy, Politics, and Economics (PPE). He later studied acting at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama.
As an actor, Ahmed began his film career in the 2006 Michael Winterbottom film The Road to Guantánamo, in which he played the part of Shafiq Rasul, a member of the Tipton Three.
In 2007, he played Sohail Waheed in the Channel 4 drama, Britz. Ahmed then portrayed Riq in the five-part horror thriller Dead Set for E4 and Manesh Kunzru in ITV1’s Wired in 2008.
He appeared in Rogue One, the first film in the new Star Wars anthology films as Bodhi Rook, a defective imperial pilot in 2016.
Ahmed starred in the American drama film Sound of Metal, which was distributed by Amazon Studios and released in 2020, after having premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2019.
Ahmed is set to voice Ballister Boldheart in Nimona, which is scheduled for release in 2023 on Netflix.
Was Riz Ahmed up for an Oscar?
Yes, Ahmed won the 2022 Oscar for best live-action short film for the short film The Long Goodbye.