Rizwan "Riz" Ahmed (Urdu pronunciation: [ɾɪzˌwɑːnˈɛɦˌməd̪]; born 1 December 1982) is a British actor and rapper. He has received several awards, including an Academy Award and a Primetime Emmy Award, with nominations for two Golden Globe Awards and two British Academy Film Awards. In 2017, he was named in the Time Listing of the most influential people in the world.
After studying acting at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, Ahmed began his acting career with independent films such as The Road to Guantanamo (2006), Shifty (2008), Four Lions (2010), Trishna (2011), and The Reluctant Fundamentalist (2012). He had his break-out role in Nightcrawler (2014), which led to roles in the 2016 big-budget films Jason Bourne and Rogue One. For starring as a young man accused of murder in the HBO miniseries The Night Of (2016), Ahmed won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series. He received another Emmy nomination in the same year for his guest role in Girls. He went on to play Carlton Drake in the superhero film Venom (2018) and a drummer who loses his hearing in the drama film Sound of Metal (2019). The latter earned him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor. He produced, co-wrote, and starred in Mogul Mowgli (2020), which earned a nomination for the BAFTA Award for Outstanding British Film.
As a rapper, Ahmed is a member of the Swet Shop Boys and has earned critical acclaim with the hip hop albums Microscope and Cashmere and commercial success featuring in the Billboard 200 chart-topping Hamilton Mixtape, with his song "Immigrants (We Get the Job Done)" winning an MTV Video Music Award. His second studio album, The Long Goodbye, was accompanied by a short film of the same name, which won him the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film.
As an activist, Ahmed is known for his political rap music, has been involved in raising awareness and funds for Rohingya and Syrian refugee children, and has advocated 'BAME' representation at the House of Commons.
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1.03
Popularity44
Credits6.8
Rating51.6M
Budget240M
RevenueActing
Primarily2026 Judy
2025 Relay as Tom
2025 The Phoenician Scheme as Prince Farouk
2025 Violent Talent
2025 Exit West as Saeed Executive Producer
2025 Hamlet as Hamlet Producer
2023 Fingernails as Amir
2023 Dammi as Mounir
2023 Nimona as Ballister Boldheart (voice)
2023 Mustache Executive Producer
2022 Joyland Executive Producer
2022 You Resemble Me Executive Producer
2022 Moshari Executive Producer
2021 Encounter as Malik Khan
2021 Flee Executive Producer
2021 Lines
2020 Sound of Metal as Ruben Stone Executive Producer
2020 Mogul Mowgli as Zed Story, Writer, Producer
2020 The Long Goodbye as Riz Writer, Creator
2018 Venom as Carlton Drake / Riot
2018 The Sisters Brothers as Hermann Kermit Warm
2017 The Stories: The Making of 'Rogue One: A Star Wars Story' as Self
2017 Una as Scott
2016 Rogue One: A Star Wars Story as Bodhi Rook
2016 City of Tiny Lights as Tommy Akhtar
2016 Jason Bourne as Aaron Kalloor
2014 Nightcrawler as Rick
2014 Daytimer Director, Writer
2013 Out of Darkness as Male
2013 Closed Circuit as Nazrul Sharma
2013 The Reluctant Fundamentalist as Changez
2012 Ill Manors as Aaron
2011 Black Gold as Ali
2011 Trishna as Jay
2010 Four Lions as Omar
2010 Centurion as Tarak
2009 Taqwacore: The Birth of Punk Islam
2009 Rage as Vijay
2009 Freefall as Gary
2008 Baghdad Express as Talal Original Music Composer
2008 Shifty as Shifty
2007 Britz as Sohail Wahid
2006 Banglatown Banquet as Razual
2006 The Road to Guantanamo as Shafiq