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In a pivotal scene from the indie drama “Sound of Metal,” drummer Ruben Stone, played by Riz Ahmed, collapses into the isolation of the room’s faded white walls, struggling to cope with the silence that followed his sudden disability. auditory.
It’s a showcase of Ruben’s fraying and Ahmed’s immersive performance, which movie critics have hailed as Oscar-worthy. This would make Ahmed the first actor of Pakistani origin to be nominated in the lead actor category.
Ahmed, whose credits include films like “Nightcrawler” and “Venom”, was the star of HBO’s “The Night Of”. In 2017, he became the first South Asian actor to win an Emmy for his lead role in the miniseries.
“It’s always encouraging and I don’t take it for granted at all,” Ahmed told NBC Asian America, adding that he also didn’t want to get caught up in labels or premieres, which he said. , can sometimes be distracting.
The 37-year-old actor said his journey took him to a time of realizing that he wanted to play characters that pique his creative curiosity – not only when it comes to race and identity, but also linked to other diverse and lesser-known experiences. .
“Sound of Metal” is Ruben’s journey of self-discovery as he struggles with sudden deafness and struggles to stay sober. The film also stars Olivia Cooke and Paul Raci.
Directed by Darius Marder, it hits theaters on the Friday before its streaming premiere on Amazon Prime Video on December 4.
The film shines a light on Ruben’s spiraling emotions as he faces the grief of losing his hearing, his music, and his girlfriend.
Ahmed said the role was difficult but forced him to push himself. “The best way to approach it was from a personal place,” he says.
The role is different from Ahmed’s previous work earlier this year, which directly addresses identity issues such as the exploration of multicultural identity. He said he did not want to question what is expected of him as a British Pakistani, knowing that the Muslim community is not a monolith and that there are multiple ways to approach representation. .
“But I also think about what will stretch my culture and if I can rearrange people’s mental furnishings enough to gradually help broaden their perception of this culture.
He tackled this problem through “Mogul Mowgli”, a film he co-wrote and stars as a rapper with an autoimmune disease who travels to Pakistan to reconnect with his roots and his family. . It was released in the UK in October.
Ahmed – who also goes by his rapper name Riz MC and who is part of the musical duo Swet Shop Boys – also released his first solo album, “The Long Goodbye”, in March, in which he plans to break with England.
“I spent about 15 years in this industry and had to become good at wearing masks and making molds for myself. That’s what the actors do, ”Ahmed said. “I grew up between cultures and classes, and now I know that I can contribute by removing this mask and bringing my element and my truth, especially if it’s an element that has not been seen or heard much. before.
For “Sound of Metal,” which premiered at the 2019 Toronto International Film Festival, Ahmed spent months learning to play the drums and use American Sign Language. He also had to tap into intense feelings to experience Ruben’s trauma onscreen.
Now that his efforts have paid off, Ahmed doesn’t want to let the Oscars buzz swallow him up. He said that after listening to a lecture between Maya Angelou and James Baldwin recently, he connected with what she said, “When you start believing in your own advertising, you are done as a ‘artist.”
As Oscar chatter hangs over his performance in “Sound of Metal,” Ahmed is relieved to have survived another movie. “I’m just going to focus on what’s next and how I can continue to develop for myself and my culture,” he said.
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