Riz Ahmed has never been afraid of a challenge – he famously learned drumming and sign language for his role in Sound of Metal.
But his most fearless performance? Taking on Hollywood…This summer, Riz Ahmed took aim at Hollywood and the wider film industry.
In a speech that was somehow both measured and searingly furious, the British actor called out the “toxic portrayals” of Muslim characters in TV and movies.
Using research that he was directly involved in commissioning, Ahmed showed how Muslims, who make up almost a quarter of the world’s population, are either “invisible or villains” in our screen entertainment.
He said that this omission resulted not just in “lost audiences” but “lost lives” because of the “dehumanising and demonising” ways that Muslims were often depicted.
In fact, Ahmed noted, some of the most prestigious and awards-laden releases of recent years were “frankly racist”: specifically The Hurt Locker and Argo,
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