News | Entertainment
29 Mar 2024 22:05
NZCity News
NZCity CalculatorReturn to NZCity

  • Start Page
  • Personalise
  • Sport
  • Weather
  • Finance
  • Shopping
  • Jobs
  • Horoscopes
  • Lotto Results
  • Photo Gallery
  • Site Gallery
  • TVNow
  • Dating
  • SearchNZ
  • NZSearch
  • Crime.co.nz
  • RugbyLeague
  • Make Home
  • About NZCity
  • Contact NZCity
  • Your Privacy
  • Advertising
  • Login
  • Join for Free

  •   Home > News > Entertainment

    Riz Ahmed is proud to have challenged "lazy stereotypes" during his career

    The 34-year-old actor, who starred as a wannabe jihadist in the 2010 comedy movie 'Four Lions', has revealed he made a conscious decision to deal with issues surrounding Islamophobia in a creative way.


    The London-born star - who was named the Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie for 'The Night Of' on Sunday (17.09.17) -

    shared: "A lot of my early work deals with the issues around the war on terror or Islamophobia, but I'm proud that it deals with those issues in creative ways and in ways that move us forward rather than doubling down on lazy stereotypes.

    "But yeah, there was a lot of, like, Terrorist No3 stuff. I just made a decision I wasn't going to do it. I thought, 'I'd rather be broke'."

    Riz is the first Asian male and first Muslim to win an acting Emmy.

    But the actor, who is the son of Pakistani immigrants, can still recall the racist abuse he received during his childhood.

    He told The Sun newspaper: "I grew up dancing between different worlds a lot.

    "Wembley kind of went through a lot of transitions in the time that I lived there.

    "It went from being quite a lower-middle class white area to recently becoming an Asian immigrant area. When I was a little kid, I mean I remember we suffered quite a lot of racism as well."

    Riz even suffered abuse during his student days at Oxford University, where he studied politics, philosophy and economics.

    He recalled: "The first person I met at Oxford, I asked to borrow a phone charger. She looked at me, laughed in my face, and told me with no irony or malice that I looked just like Ali G.

    "I would go back to my room, tune in to 1Xtra (the BBC's urban music network), think what I could be doing with music back in London, and wonder, 'What the hell am I doing here?'"

    © 2024 Bang Showbiz, NZCity

     Other Entertainment News
     29 Mar: Heidi Klum would've "loved" a role in 'Griselda'
     29 Mar: Tom Schwartz "made out" with Scheana Shay 12 years ago
     29 Mar: Mel B vowed she would never marry again following her split from Stephen Belafonte
     29 Mar: Eva Mendes has branded her mum "incredible" for retaining her sense of humour during her battle with cancer
     29 Mar: Katie Maloney doesn't "hang out" with her 'Vanderpump Rules' co-stars
     29 Mar: Jessica Chastain found it "difficult" to film 'Mothers' Instinct' with her showbiz pal Anne Hathaway
     29 Mar: Queen Camilla hosted authors and actors at a star-studded event in London to celebrate reading
     Top Stories

    RUGBY RUGBY
    The Chiefs are backing young first-five Josh Jacomb to step up in tonight's Super Rugby clash against the Crusaders in Christchurch More...


    BUSINESS BUSINESS
    New Zealand Food Safety is supporting Matakana Smokehouse in its recall of a specific batch of two of its salmon products because of the possible presence of Listeria More...



     Today's News

    Rugby League:
    NRL Good Friday: Bulldogs take on desperate Rabbitohs, Broncos renew rivalry with Cowboys 21:57

    Law and Order:
    Gisborne Police have charged three people with graffiti vandalism and have identified a fourth suspect after the city's rainbow crossing was defaced with white paint earlier this week 21:57

    Entertainment:
    Heidi Klum would've "loved" a role in 'Griselda' 21:53

    Law and Order:
    Police have left the scene of a party that erupted into a disturbance on Auckland's Princes Wharf 21:37

    Entertainment:
    Tom Schwartz "made out" with Scheana Shay 12 years ago 21:23

    Entertainment:
    Mel B vowed she would never marry again following her split from Stephen Belafonte 20:53

    Entertainment:
    Eva Mendes has branded her mum "incredible" for retaining her sense of humour during her battle with cancer 20:23

    Entertainment:
    Katie Maloney doesn't "hang out" with her 'Vanderpump Rules' co-stars 19:53

    Entertainment:
    Jessica Chastain found it "difficult" to film 'Mothers' Instinct' with her showbiz pal Anne Hathaway 19:23

    Rugby:
    The Chiefs are backing young first-five Josh Jacomb to step up in tonight's Super Rugby clash against the Crusaders in Christchurch 18:57


     News Search






    Power Search


    © 2024 New Zealand City Ltd