Since graduating from the U.K.'s Oxford University and the Central School of Speech and Drama, Riz Ahmed has drawn praise in multiple mediums.
His films have included Mira Nair's The Reluctant Fundamentalist, in which he played the lead role, supported by Liev Schreiber, Kate Hudson, and Kiefer Sutherland; Michael Winterbottom's Trishna, opposite Freida Pinto; Jean-Jacques Annaud's Day of the Falcon (a.k.a. Black Gold), with Tahar Rahim, Antonio Banderas, Mark Strong, and Ms. Pinto; and Ben Drew's Ill Manors, which brought Mr. Ahmed a British Independent Film Award (BIFA) nomination as Best Actor. In 2012, he was named one of the "Shooting Stars" at the Berlin International Film Festival.
Mr. Ahmed's feature debut – made while he was still at the Central School – was a starring role in the acclaimed docudrama The Road to Guantanamo, directed by Michael Winterbottom and Mat Whitecross, which won the Silver Bear at the Berlin International Film Festival and a BIFA.
His next success was as the lead in Shifty, directed by Eran Creevy, for which he was named Best Actor at the Geneva Film Festival and received a BIFA nomination as Best Actor. He then joined the ensembles of Sally Potter's Rage and Neil Marshall's Centurion. Mr. Ahmed was soon again a BIFA nominee as Best Actor for his performance in Four Lions, the terrorism satire which brought its director Chris Morris the BAFTA Award for Outstanding Debut, among other honors the film and its cast and crew received.
His notable U.K. television work includes Britz, directed by Peter Kosminsky for Channel 4, which won Best Drama at both the BAFTA and the Royal Television Society Awards; the fan favorite series Dead Set, directed by Yann Demange; and Dominic Savage's Freefall.
Mr. Ahmed's stage work has included performances at the English National Opera in Gaddafi: A Living Myth, for David Freeman and in Prayer Room for Angus Jackson; the latter was initially performed at the Edinburgh International Festival.
He also has an active music career, as Riz MC.
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