Riz Ahmed was hospitalised for "something silent and intense" while filming Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
The 42-year-old actor has revealed that had a "very intense" health scare during the film's shoot
30 August 2025
Speaking on Podcrushed, Riz shared: "It was super scary and intense and quite prolonged, actually."
Despite this, Riz wasn't entirely sure why he was feeling ill.
He said: "Something very silent and very intense had happened to me and I wasn't getting better quickly.
"For a minute, I was like, 'Am I ever going to get my life back?'"
The actor recalled experiencing a "deep kind of grief and fear and terror and yet, also a kind of tremendous liberation and gratitude and acceptance".
He explained: "I always think that when you're brought to your knees, you're halfway towards praying."
The movie star added that "when you're kind of humbled in that way, when something is taken away from you, you become even more acutely aware of everything you have - and a bodily level, on a health level, you realise like, you don't control anything, man. You don't control a single thing. You don't even control your body."
Riz admits that the health scare made him feel very philosophical about life.
The actor - who didn't reveal the precise issue - said: "In the most strange way, I never felt more grateful, more at peace, more content than when I felt like I was going to lose my whole life."
Meanwhile, Riz previously admitted that he felt under pressure to "people-please" at the start of his career.
The movie star spent years trying to "contort [himself] around other people's expectations" - but he's now learning to trust his gut instinct.
He told The Times Magazine: "It's something I'm still learning to do. If you grow up wearing different masks and code-switching, then your survival is premised on your ability to contort yourself around other people's expectations and to people-please.
"That's why I feel like I've been able to play a range of different roles, because I've had to live that range of different versions of myself. But what it can sometimes rob you of is a clear handle on your core, what your core values are."
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