Riz Ahmed is having himself a bit of a moment. After receiving acclaim for his role in 2014’s Nightcrawler, Ahmed parlayed his success to a bit role in Jason Bourne, the starring role in HBO’s critical darling The Night Of, and he’ll be capping off the year with a role in Rogue One. It’s a pretty packed schedule for him, but he’s using his newfound celebrity to shine a light about other topics near and dear to him.
Ahmed stopped by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert earlier this week to reveal what it’s like to be British and Muslim. Many may be a little surprised to learn, including the host, that Ahmed was born and raised in Great Britain. When Colbert asked him if there is a difference between the American-Muslim experience and British-Muslim experience, Ahmed told the host Britain is a bit more diversified than people think, and he is proud of his identity:
“When I was growing up, I felt like I had to qualify it and say I’m British-Pakistani. But now, in this day and age, I feel like this is what British looks like me. It looks like me, like Idris Elba. And hopefully through Nasir Khan, people will see that’s what American can look like as well.”
A late night interview can just be a standard puff piece for an actor, so it’s refreshing to hear Ahmed take his moment in the spotlight to talk about larger issues. Ahmed was also asked about his experience with Rogue One, which he remained pretty mum on, only saying the film has a “really intense energy.” But Ahmed saved his best anecdote for last when he discussed his rap career as Riz MC. Ahmed, or excuse me, Riz MC spit hot fire during the interview and dissed Ryan Lochte in the process. Is there anything this guy can’t do?
