Riz Ahmed is never absent from our screens for too long. He’s a true multihyphenate: actor, rapper, activist – and podcast guest, sitting down with Service95 founder Dua Lipa during Season 1 of At Your Service.
You probably know Riz best onscreen – the actor has brought his magnetic intensity to films such as Four Lions, Nightcrawler and Star Wars: Rogue One, while in 2021, he made history as the first Muslim to be nominated at the Academy Awards for Best Actor In A Leading Role, thanks to his brilliant portrayal of Ruben Stone in Sound Of Metal.
However, his work away from the camera also speaks volumes: his passions for rap and standing up for racial justice and refugee right intersect in his music, first as a member of political hip-hop group Swet Shop Boys and then as a solo artist. In his conversation with Dua, he talks powerfully about how Muslim people are represented in popular culture, and the damage that negative stereotypes can leave in their wake.
“Research has found that Muslims get 1.6% of all speaking roles in American, British and Australian films, and of that tiny percentage, two-thirds are either victims or perpetrators of violence,” he says. “It does change people’s views; it creates the space for people to stop thinking of you as human and complicated, and stop trying to empathise with you. And that’s when crazy policies get enacted and hate crimes start to rise.”
Riz is thoughtful about the work he takes on. In 2025, his roster has been impressive: in Spring, he played Prince Farouk in Wes Anderson’s The Phoenician Scheme, then the lead role in Hamlet fora contemporary adaptation set in London’s South Asian community, before starring in fast-paced thriller Relay alongside Lily James.
It’s safe to say his commitment to fresh filmmaking is stronger than ever, and he’s open about how much he’s inspired by the work of others. Here, Riz shares the five films he returns to again and again – ones to add to your watch list now.
La Haine (1995)
“It’s a French film that’s just amazing and still stands up today. It’s such a cool, funny, entertaining, hard-hitting, political, bad-ass film with swagger. It’s about growing up in a housing project in Paris.”
The Thin Red Line (1998)
“The Thin Red Line is a classic Terrence Malick film about war and loneliness [set during the Second World War]. It’s just so beautiful and has an amazing soundtrack.”
The Godfather: Part II (1974)
“I like the first Godfather more, but part two has got both Al Pacino and Robert De Niro, so you can’t really beat that. I feel like watching Italian American stories growing up, I was seeing my experience onscreen – the immigrant, outsider experience.”
Goodfellas (1990)
“For that same reason, Goodfellas has to come in at number one in my top five. If you haven’t seen Goodfellas, stop everything and watch it now.”
Flee (2021)
“I am going to be biased and choose a film I was lucky enough to be a producer on, which made history for being the first film nominated for Best Foreign Language, Best Documentary and Best Animation [at the Academy Awards]. It is a beautiful and moving film about a gay Afghan refugee who’s sharing his story for the first time. It’s a documentary but it’s all animated; a really special film and a story that will live on, as it is sadly becoming more and more relevant.”
Listen to Riz Ahmed’s full conversation with Dua for our podcast, At Your Service, here
