It’s kind of surprising the Riz Ahmed isn’t an A-list celebrity already since he’s been in a few high-profile movies and done a rather good job. But perhaps this upcoming role in Hamlet will finally push him over that edge and allow Riz to take his place among the A-listers. If not then it will at least make good and sure that people know that he’s for real, a fact that should have happened already.
Maybe it’s that he’s not starring in films that are mainstream enough or perhaps it’s the roles he takes on that aren’t helping his case, but honestly Riz Ahmed is a good actor. He’s worth the roles he gets and has already proven himself a few times. In fact I’m willing to bet that people who have seen the movies The Reluctant Fundamentalist, Jason Bourne, and Rogue One have seen him and either not recognized him or haven’t thought much of his role. After all he’s played in the same films as stars such as Liev Schreiber, Matt Damon, and the cast of Rogue One, who were all pretty dominant in their roles and didn’t give him much room to expand and develop. Perhaps he needs to be front and center without others to override him to really shine for once.
In The Reluctant Fundamentalist he was a quiet and rather unassuming character who didn’t do or say much but still spoke volumes when he did speak. The movie was one of those that you really need to watch however in order to understand everything that is going on, and it is very steeped in Middle Eastern culture so a person needs to go in with some understanding that it might not seem entirely comprehensible at all times. It was a good movie however and gave him a chance to actually come out and become a well-respected actor.
His role in Rogue One was more or less comedic than anything as well as dramatic since he played an Imperial pilot that had defected from the Empire and was carrying a message on how to destroy the Empire’s newest weapon, the Death Star. His character was somewhat vital to the story but didn’t get as much attention as the stars mostly because he was a messenger, not a leading man. His inclusion in the movie was appreciated however and served its purpose right up until his character’s unfortunate end.
To hear that’s going to play Hamlet on Netflix is interesting enough that it should be worth watching. The many different versions of Shakespeare’s tragedy, one of them at least, have shown the directorial point of view of a number of people, but few representations have ever really hit the mark that well. One in particular that I can recall was the version of Hamlet that starred Mel Gibson, a role that many were flummoxed by since Gibson was already so well known for playing the roles of Mad Max and Martin Riggs, two men that were anything but noble and didn’t waste time talking when it was time for action.
Perhaps Riz Ahmed will bring new life to the role. It’s worth a look when it comes.
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