Riz
Ahmed
Riz Ahmed
(1994-2001) read PPE at Christ Church, Oxford. An acquaintance saw
his stage performance in
Jesus hopped the ‘A’ Train
and recommended he apply
for the Central School of Speech and Drama at the University of London, where he
was spotted and cast in the award-winning Michael Winterbottom film,
Road to
Guantanamo
. He has gone on to star in a series of films, including Chris Morris’s
Four Lions
. His latest film, Mira Nair’s
The Reluctant Fundamentalist
, premiered
worldwide in May 2013. He is in conversation with Chris Roseblade
Concordia
Merchant Taylors’ School
When you came to MTS you were on
a bursary. Was that ever an issue?
I came on an assisted place but when they
were scrapped by the government, the
school swapped that for a bursary, which I
thought was really cool – though as a kid
I was nervous, not sure for a time what
was going to happen. It wasn’t ever an
issue amongst any of the boys per se but
there was definitely a sense of “travelling”
from home to school – I don’t just mean
geographically – I grew up in Wembley - I
guess there was a culture gap between
the peers I grew up with in my home life
and those I grew up with at school, but
really that was enriching as a teenager;
I think it was at times confusing, when
you are a teenager you’re always trying to
find out what the real version of you is, or
if there is one, but looking back, towards
the end of my school life, I realised how
privileged and lucky I was to have my life
enriched in that way; I experienced things
I wouldn’t have if I hadn’t come to MTS.
You once said to me “I had no idea
how aggressive I came over as”.
Do you think that was something
to do with that social journey from
Wembley to the more genteel, refined
world of MTS?
I guess that had something to do with it!
I grew up in a large, boisterous, loving
household, not particularly spacious, with
six people living there – a typical, noisy
immigrant household with lots of food
and loud conversation and sometimes
you had to fight your corner. That might
have been part of it, the different cultural
milieu of growing up in Wembley, but
to be honest, part of it I have to take
responsibility for, and say that was just
What Drama moment do you
remember at school?
I remember a lot. I played Prospero on
my 18th birthday. It was a Saturday and
most people for their 18th birthday were
going out clubbing in Leicester Square
– I was doing Shakespeare at MTS. I
remember my dad came to pick me up
and on the long drive home from Moor
Park to Wembley my little celebration was
putting on Jay-Z’s cassette Hard Knock
Life. I don’t know why I remember that
moment. For me that was my celebration,
driving home with Jay-Z, as Prospero, in
full costume and make-up.
Which teachers do you remember?
The teachers I remember are definitely
you – you were an influence full stop. Tony
Booth was my tutor and put up with me
especially when I got into trouble and tried
to give me true pastoral care and sort it out.
David Green, I remember big time! When I
was in the Third Form he did that amazing
thing of allowing me to be over-exuberant
at times, if he saw there was something
to be gained by that in terms of getting a
spark out of me. John Coleman got me into
acting with South Pacific. David Brown,
who directed me in The Threepenny Opera
and The Tempest. I have recently started
taking French lessons again and I think
one of the reasons was the way Mr Rocher
taught, which was kind of throwing away
the syllabus and talking about Truffaut
movies and La Nouvelle Vague, and French
I played Prospero on
my 18th birthday.
It was a Saturday
and most people for
their 18th birthday
were going out
clubbing in Leicester
Square – I was doing
Shakespeare at MTS
me, it sometimes is still just me – I can
be overcome with enthusiasm for what I
want to get across and it can come across
as aggressive or overbearing – there are
pros and cons to that. (Rueful smile).
