Ahmed was also reportedly in the mix to play Aladdin in Disney’s upcoming live action remake of the 1992 animated movie, but that role ended up going to Mena Massoud.
He’d already earned accolades for his performance as Rick in the Jake Gyllenhaal-led thriller Nightcrawler back in 2014, but last year saw him achieving worldwide fame for playing Bodhi Rook in Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, the first of the Star Wars Anthology spinoffs.
2016 was a big year for Riz Ahmed.
His other notable credits include playing Aaron Kalloor in Jason Bourne and starring as Nasir Khan in the HBO miniseries The Night Of, the latter for which he was nominated for a Golden Globe and an Emmy.