Venom, Four Lions and Night Crawler actor Riz Ahmed joined Haroon Rashid on BBC Asian Network to discuss his new film, storytelling, being robbed, his views on representation in the industry and on having to work harder than some of his acting peers.
Throughout his interview he shared some quotes on South Asian representation in the indsutry but also how South Asians having to work harder than a white actor.
On representation in the industry
“I felt I wanted to represent people that didn’t feel represented, not least myself and the younger version of myself, you know. I remembered when we’d see a brown person on tv and everyone in the household would be like ‘oh Asian, Asian’ and you’d stop what you were doing, run downstairs, see who’s on tv, right, you remember those days? So of course, I’m aware it’s meaningful because I’ve grown up in a culture where I felt unseen, so I want people to feel seen.
However, I’ve kinda changed my thinking on it a lot right now at this point because I’ve realised that the whole idea that one person can represent a community is kinda nonsensical. We’re so complex, we’re so infinitely varied, we’re so diverse, and that’s true of all comminates. I think the thing that I’m trying to focus on now rather than representing for other people, is to really present myself honestly.”
“You know the American Nigerian writer Teju Cole says that what people want from a piece of art or an artist is to feel a sense of freedom and I think representation and so much of the conversation around that can be like I’m representing other people because we demand liberation and now, I just want to be liberated, I just want to embody that. I want to be the change that I want to see and not talk about the change someone else can give me.So really what I’m thinking is like if I can do me without feeling a sense of responsibility to anyone then actually that’s the most transformative thing, that’s the most transformative energy to put out there.”
On having to work harder than a white actor
“It’s interesting, I think that everyone’s gift is their curse, I believe that deeply. I believe that everyone’s curse is their gift and I think that sometimes if the obstacles in front of you are something that you take as not just a curse but as a gift, if you think of them as opportunities for you to grow and for you to also challenge the culture to grow, that’s a beautiful thing.”
“It’s interesting, the same thing that makes my journey harder is also the same thing that I believe makes it more meaningful for myself and others. And I probably wouldn’t swap that out you know? I’d probably want to have a slightly harder journey that people connect to more deeply and carries a bit more meaning.”
“I think when you’re trying to change culture that’s not going to come easy, that’s kinda what I feel I’m here to do, that’s what I feel that Storytelling at its best can do, you know to take people out of their comfort zone to overturn peoples assumptions and you know, kind of shake things up a little bit. And it’s always going to be met with some resistance, some of that’s overt resistance, some of that is just laziness, some of that is just unfamiliarity. Like I said, like you could say should, things should be different, things could be different. I’m really interested in trying to embrace the beauty of the struggles that we do face and to me it is a beautiful struggle, to me it is imbued with deep meaning and resonance.”
