Riz Ahmed has portrayed a diverse array of characters throughout his acting career, ranging from a corporate fixer and a tech millionaire to a villain seeking to harness aliens for power. However, the actor's real-life experiences have proven equally surprising and thrilling. In a recent interview, Ahmed opened up about three separate attempts to recruit him into the world of espionage.
Riz Ahmed Almost Joined the Secret Services
While discussing his latest project, Relay, Riz Ahmed revealed that he had been approached three times to join the secret service. Speaking to Mehdi Hasan on his social media platform, the Venom actor shared that even a high-ranking executive from a media company was among those who tried to recruit him.
He explained, "Well, it's happened three different times, and they're all slightly ridiculous, and this is what I mean by it, it's just inherently comedic." He further disclosed that during the first encounter, he was even placed in a chokehold.
When pressed for details, Ahmed recounted, "One was when I came back from my first film, The Road to Guantánamo. We landed at Luton airport celebrating. They took me into a side room, put me in an arm lock, threatened to break my arm, took my phone, were pretending to bash the buttons, accidentally changed the language to Danish, and then were kind of like: 'Did you become an actor to further the Muslim struggle?'"
He added that the individuals then asked if he would be willing to monitor incidents on their behalf, but he declined. The second approach came from a family friend, while the third involved a high-ranking executive from a media company, which left him astonished. Reflecting on the experiences, Ahmed joked that if he had actually become a federal agent, it would have made for a "sick biopic."
