British-Pakistani actor Riz Ahmed takes home Emmy Award
"If this show has [shined] a light on some of the prejudice in our society, Islamophobia, some of the injustice in our justice system, then maybe that's something," says Riz Ahmed. Photo: Getty Images
(Web Desk) - Riz Ahmed – a British-Pakistani actor took home the statue for ‘Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie’ at the 69th Annual Emmy Awards on Sunday, becoming the first Muslim and South-Asian actor to have won an Emmy, reported the Huffington Post.
In his acceptance speech, Ahmed said: “If this show has [shined] a light on some of the prejudice in our society, Islamophobia, some of the injustice in our justice system, then maybe that’s something.”
The actor then credited the organizations South Asian Youth Action and The Innocence Project for helping him prepare for the role.
According to the Huffington Post, Ahmed was nominated twice this year for both his starring roles on the 2016 HBO limited series, for which he played a wide-eyed student accused of murder, and his turn as a love interest for Lena Dunham’s Hannah Horvath on the final season of HBO’s “Girls.”
With his win, Ahmed bested fellow actors Benedict Cumberbatch, Robert De Niro, Ewan McGregor, Geoffrey Rush and his “Night Of” co-star John Turturro.
When the British actor found out he was nominated for two Emmys, and so was a favorite to win it, he expressed his excitement with a throwback video of himself at 6 years old, doing an impression of Prince Charles at a birthday party. He captioned the video, “tbh I think my best work ever.”
While pushing for “globalisation” of stories, Ahmed also said that the television in particular is a global medium.
“People are streaming shows or watching them all around the world, so hopefully we’re going to see a globalisation of the stories we’re telling and a globalisation of the talent pool,” he said.
Nasir Khan played by Ahmed on ‘The Night Of’, is a Pakistani college student who wakes and finds a friend stabbed to death. Having no recollection of what happened Nasir gets involved in a murder investigation.
Ahmed winning an Emmy is also a victory for the diverse on-screen representation, at a time when actors from South Asia are still being asked to play characters with stereotypical accents.
It was just last year when Aziz Ansari became the first actor of South Asian descent to be nominated for a lead acting Emmy.
.@rizmc: "If this show has shown a light on the prejudices in our societies ... then maybe that s something" https://t.co/fQHkjymk9C #Emmys pic.twitter.com/XLdVJcB3zR
— Hollywood Reporter (@THR) September 18, 2017
