Connect with us

Entertainment

Riz Ahmed recalls his “worst audition” ever, real-life meet cute with wife and more

Published

on

Riz Ahmed recalls his “worst audition” ever, real-life meet cute with wife and more


Oscar winner Riz Ahmed’s family always knew he was destined for stardom, with his mother enrolling him in speech and drama lessons by the ripe age of 8. The British actor jokes that it all started with his impressions of Prince Charles — now King Charles III.

“You’re not gonna ask me to do it now. He’s not the prince; he’s the King,” laughed Ahmed in an interview with CBS News. “Taking a step back, I think that on some level, I was always acting. … From a young age, I was code switching. So I think that was something that was kind of confusing at times as a kid. But you look back and I realize it forced me to develop these muscles.”

Ahmed loves to flex his acting muscles, which he in part developed at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama in London. But his road to success wasn’t always smooth. 

“Worst audition in my life”

His audition for Danny Boyle’s 2008 film “Slumdog Millionaire” is one that often comes to mind. He auditioned for the lead as well as the role of the volatile older brother.

“That was probably the worst audition in my life,” he recalled. 

“I can’t remember exactly what happened in the audition. But I remember it ended with me … holding Danny Boyle up against the wall. And I’d ripped his shirt open. And a couple of the buttons popped off. And he goes, ‘All right, thanks a lot, Riz. Thanks for coming in. Appreciate that.’ I didn’t get the role for some reason,” Ahmed added, jokingly.

His breakout came in 2014 in the film “Nightcrawler.” Three years later, he earned an Emmy playing the suspect in the HBO crime drama “The Night Of.” 

In 2021 he scored his first Oscar nomination playing a drummer who loses hearing in “Sound of Metal.” And a year later, Ahmed, who is also a rapper, won an Academy Award for “The Long Goodbye,” a short film based on his own album.

Cafe meet cute

While he was preparing for his role as Ruben Stone in “Sound of Metal,” he met his wife, New York Times bestselling novelist Fatima Farheen Mirza, in a Brooklyn cafe.

“I was writing a script. I was actually working on the thing that I’m editing now,” Ahmed said. “She sat down opposite and started emptying her whole bag out because she’d lost her charger. You know, I just spotted an opening. ‘Can I help you?'”

The couple got married in 2020 and they’re now parents — a rewarding role Ahmed says has changed him as an artist.

“You know, at this point, anything that I do – as an artist – is facilitated by the support of my wife. So, it’s definitely kind of made me realize the extent to which the people closest to you are actually the co-authors of your work,” said Ahmed, adding that being a father has brought him more gratitude and humility.

While Ahmed was working on his upcoming Amazon comedy “Quarter Life,” the script he was writing in that cafe, his wife helped out in the writer’s room.

“She brought such insight and emotion and, you know, just brilliant ideas to the table,” Ahmed said. “My wife asking me to advise on her novels – maybe not as good an idea.”

New summer thriller

Now Ahmed is gearing up for the release of his new summer thriller, “Relay,” taking on the role as Ash alongside his costar Lily James. Ash brokers payoffs between whistleblowers and corrupt corporations, communicating only through a phone-to-text relay system.

“My character is someone who you call when you’re in trouble, when there’s no one else you can call,” Ahmed said. “I think his superpower is also his biggest weakness. He’s a loner. He lives off the grid.”

“The thing about ‘Relay’ that excites me is it’s similar to the kind of classic films that I loved to watch,” he added. “You know, stuff like ‘Michael Clayton,’ ‘The Conversation.’ These thrillers that keep you on the edge of your seat.”

“Relay,” from director David Mackenzie, is out now in movie theaters.



Source link

Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Entertainment

Ashton Kutcher says ex Demi Moore ‘killed it’

Published

on

Ashton Kutcher says ex Demi Moore ‘killed it’


Ashton Kutcher and  on Demi Moore in ‘The Substance’

Ashton Kutcher is making it clear that admiration and respect still define how he views his ex-wife Demi Moore, especially when it comes to her recent work. 

While promoting his upcoming series The Beauty, the actor openly praised Moore’s performance in The Substance, calling it one of her strongest yet.

Speaking to Entertainment Tonight in an interview published January 14, Kutcher acknowledged comparisons between his new project and Moore’s film, but quickly shifted the focus to her achievement. 

“Demi’s performance in The Substance, obviously, she got extraordinary accolades,” he said. “I’m so proud of her.” 

He then summed up his feelings simply and directly, adding, “She killed it.”

Kutcher, 47, and Moore were married from 2005 until their divorce was finalised in 2013. Since their split, he has largely avoided discussing their relationship publicly, making his recent comments stand out. 

Rather than revisiting the past in detail, his words reflected genuine appreciation for Moore’s success and her Oscar-nominated performance.

In earlier interviews, Kutcher has briefly touched on the emotional aftermath of their breakup. 

During a 2018 appearance on Dax Shepard’s Armchair Expert podcast, he shared how isolated he felt after the divorce and how he sought clarity by spending a week alone in the mountains of Big Sky, Montana. 

He explained that he disconnected completely, surviving on only water and tea, without food, devices, or conversation.

That period of solitude led him to reflect deeply on his personal life. Kutcher revealed that he wrote letters to people from past relationships where unresolved feelings remained. 

He described the process as a way of letting go of regret and emotional weight he had carried for years.

Moore, now 63, has also spoken candidly about the end of their marriage.

While promoting her 2019 memoir Inside Out, she told Good Morning America, “I lost me. If I were to look back, I would say I blinded myself and I lost myself.” 

Her words highlighted how deeply the relationship and its ending affected her sense of identity.

Today, both actors appear to be in very different places. 

Kutcher shares children Wyatt, 11, and Dimitri, 9, with his wife of ten years, Mila Kunis, while Moore continues to reflect on her past through her work and writing. 

Kutcher’s recent comments, however, show that despite everything, he still holds genuine respect for Moore, and isn’t shy about applauding her success when it’s deserved.





Source link

Continue Reading

Entertainment

Pamela Anderson reacts to seeing Seth Rogen at Golden Globes

Published

on

Pamela Anderson reacts to seeing Seth Rogen at Golden Globes


Pamela Anderson on seeing Seth Rogen at 83rd Golden Globes

Pamela Anderson is opening up about an uncomfortable moment she experienced at the Golden Globes.

The actress revealed that seeing Seth Rogen at the event brought back lingering feelings tied to the controversial Pam & Tommy series made without her consent.

Speaking on SiriusXM’s Radio Andy, the Golden Globe nominee explained that although it appeared she left the awards show early, her exit was intentional and emotionally driven. 

“At the Golden Globes, for instance, I didn’t leave early. I left after my award, and I went right to bed,” she said, clarifying that being in close proximity to Rogen made her uneasy.

The tension stems from Hulu’s 2022 limited series Pam & Tommy, which dramatised the theft and distribution of Anderson’s private 1995 tape with ex-husband Tommy Lee. 

Rogen served as an executive producer on the project and also portrayed Rand Gauthier, the man who stole and sold the tape. 

Anderson emphasised that she was never consulted about the show, a fact that continues to bother her years later.

“Seth Rogen, he did that [miniseries] on me without talking to me, Pam & Tommy,” she said. “How can someone make a TV series out of difficult times in your life? And I’m a living, breathing human being over here, hello.”

Anderson noted that Rogen was seated nearby during the ceremony. 

“He was in the pit at the Golden Globes, so we were close,” she explained. “I just felt like, ‘I’m not chopped liver over here.’ I felt a little bit weird about it.”

While Anderson said she has been staying busy professionally, working on five films over the past year, she admitted that moments like this can still hit unexpectedly. 

She shared that she hopes Rogen may one day acknowledge her feelings. “Eventually, hopefully he will reach out to me and apologise. Not that that matters.”

Reflecting more broadly, Anderson expressed frustration over how deeply personal experiences are often turned into entertainment. 

She said the “darkest, deepest secrets or your tragedies in life shouldn’t be fair game for a TV series,” adding that the situation “pissed me off a little bit.”

Rogen, meanwhile, had a successful night at the Golden Globes, where his Apple TV+ series The Studio won Best Television Series — Musical or Comedy, along with Best Actor in the same category. 

Despite the accolades, Anderson’s comments highlight that for her, the emotional impact of Pam & Tommy is far from over.





Source link

Continue Reading

Entertainment

Teyana Taylor, Leonardo DiCaprio Golden Globes drama sees new twist

Published

on

Teyana Taylor, Leonardo DiCaprio Golden Globes drama sees new twist


Teyana Taylor, Leonardo DiCaprio Golden Globes drama update

Teyana Taylor is clearing the air about Leonardo DiCaprio’s animated Golden Globes moment that took over social media, revealing that the viral clip didn’t quite unfold the way fans initially thought. 

The actress and singer addressed the buzz during her appearance on The Tonight Show on Wednesday, Jan. 14, where she continued celebrating her first-ever Golden Globe win.

The clip in question, shared on the ceremony’s official TikTok page, showed DiCaprio laughing and gesturing enthusiastically during the broadcast, leading many viewers to assume he was chatting with Taylor.

She admitted she initially thought the same. 

“Okay, so look, yesterday, I thought I broke the Da Vinci Code, right?” Taylor told Jimmy Fallon, referencing her earlier comments that suggested they were bonding over KPop Demon Hunters during the show.

Taylor explained that her excitement stemmed from the fact that her daughters, Iman “Junie” Tayla Shumpert Jr., 10, and Rue Rose Shumpert, 5, are huge fans of the Netflix animated film, which won Best Motion Picture (Animated) and Best Original Song that night. 

At first glance, she assumed DiCaprio was reacting to her. 

“So when I first seen it, I didn’t watch the whole thing. So I was like, ‘Oh you’re talking about Kpop Demon Hunters, he’s talking about me,’” she said.

But after watching the full clip, and seeing fans attempt to lip-read the exchange, Taylor realised she needed answers. 

She picked up the phone and called her longtime friend. 

“I was like, ‘You can’t be talking to me, were you talking to me?’ Because I already told people you was talking to me,” she admitted. 

According to Taylor, DiCaprio had apparently discussed KPop Demon Hunters more than once that night. 

“So apparently he had two KPop Demon Hunter conversations that night, so KPop Demon Hunters was just in his mouth all night,” she joked.

The situation sparked some playful jealousy on Taylor’s part. 

“Who else is you chewing your invisible gum with?” she teased, adding that DiCaprio didn’t even remember who he had been talking to at the table.

Despite the confusion, the moment only added to the buzz surrounding their film One Battle After Another, which picked up four Golden Globe wins, including Best Motion Picture (Musical or Comedy) and Taylor’s award for her role as Perfidia Beverly Hills. 

Both stars are now heading into the 2026 Actor Awards on March 1 with individual nominations, proving that even a misunderstood viral moment can end on a high note.





Source link

Continue Reading

Trending