Today, Riz Ahmed is one of the industry’s most respected performers. With an Oscar for an acclaimed project, several impressive performances, and a career that stretches across acting, music, and activism, he has come a long way. But long before Ahmed made it big, there was a moment when he questioned his place in Hollywood.
Early in his career, opportunities for South Asian actors were few and far between. So when one big career opportunity role slipped away, Ahmed feared he had missed the only chance he would ever get to lead a major film, only it wasn’t true.
Missing ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ Meant Career End For Riz Ahmed
In a 2021 interview for The Guardian, Riz Ahmed recalled how he tried to get into ‘Slumdog Millionaire,’ Danny Boyle’s Oscar-winning film that later became a worldwide hit. By this time, the actor had already worked professionally for a few years.
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However, good roles for young South Asian actors remained very rare at that time. But Boyle rejected him for being too intense during the audition. Speaking about his reaction to the rejection, Ahmed confessed that he immediately lost himself in pessimistic thoughts after not getting the part.
“When Slumdog Millionaire came up, I’d already been working for a few years,” he said. “It was like, ‘There’s never been anything like this! A lead role in a film, and it’s for a young brown dude,’ And when I didn’t get it straight away, I was like, ‘Well, that’s it, it’s done, there’s not going to be another one of those.’”
The part eventually went to Dev Patel, who made his feature-film debut playing Jamal Malik after taking part in the British teen drama ‘Skins.’ Written by Vikas Swarup, ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ became one of the greatest films of 2008, receiving eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture.
It proved to be a breakthrough for Patel’s international career. Considering how rarely similar roles were given to South Asian actors, it becomes clear why Ahmed believed he missed his last chance to get such an amazing role. And boy, was he wrong.
The Rejection Became A Turning Point In Ahmed’s Career
Riz Ahmed’s worries proved to be groundless. While ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ launched Dev Patel’s global career, Ahmed himself secured parts and delivered a series of brilliant performances that showed his versatility.
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In Chris Morris’ satirical comedy ‘Four Lions,’ he earned recognition from critics. Then came ‘Nightcrawler’ in 2014, which introduced him to an even broader audience alongside Jake Gyllenhaal. After that, Ahmed’s career started to move upward with every new project.
Beyond films like ‘Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,’ ‘The Night Of,’ and ‘Venom,’ he did a project that established him as a serious actor. In 2021, he made history as the first Muslim actor to receive a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in ‘Sound of Metal.’
The following year, he also won the Oscar in Best Live-Action Short Film for ‘The Long Goodbye,’ which he co-wrote with Aneil Karia. Apart from his filmography, Ahmed has become a prominent advocate for better representation of Muslims and South Asians in Hollywood.
The actor developed a framework called the “Riz Test,” used to evaluate the representation of Muslim characters on screen. Looking back, it is easy to think the ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ rejection could have made him give up his career. However, it just turned out to be a difficult period.
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