While the controversy at this year’s Oscars may have dominated the headlines, several talented actors and filmmakers earned their first-ever Academy Awards — including one star from the UK, Riz Ahmed.

Ahmed has truly made his mark over the years as a multi-talented, jack-of-all-trades creator, with his impressive career spanning over his time as a rapper, activist, screenwriter and actor. He is also certainly one Hollywood star we can point to as having “humble beginnings,” coming from a typical Asian family in Wembley, London, and then gradually rising to fame. Throughout his acting career, Ahmed has constantly received critical acclaim for his emotional rawness, vulnerability, and his ability to explore the crucial theme of identity. If you are a fan of his work, make sure you haven't missed any these crucial performances!

Malik Khan in Encounter (2021)

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Image via Amazon Studios

Starting off as an alien invasion film, Michael Pearce’s Encounter quickly turns the classic sci-fi premise on its head. The film is a psychological, suspenseful thriller with an incredible lead performance by Ahmed, who plays Malik Khan, an ex-Marine who enters into a secret-ops battle against insect-sized, parasitical aliens, taking his two young sons along on the journey.

Ahmed perfectly embodies the role of a paranoid ex-soldier who is clearly impacted by the psychological trauma of going to war. He never exaggerates any scene of emotional anguish or terror, but instead, leaves audiences feeling completely tapped into his state of mind. Co-starring alongside two young actors cast as his sons, Jay (Lucian-River Chauhan) and Bobby (Aditya Geddada), Ahmed also paints a picture of Malik’s struggles as a father who is out of his depth, fighting to do what he thinks is the right thing. Despite some mixed reviews about Encounter’s overall effectiveness as a sci-fi thriller, one thing is clear: Ahmed’s lead performance brilliantly adds a sense of slowly-building dread and a unique emotional quality to the whole film.

Zed in Mogul Mowgli (2020)

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Image via via Strand Releasing

Nominated for a BAFTA, Mogul Mowgli tells the story of a British Pakistani rapper who, on the cusp of a big break in his career, is struck down by a life-changing illness. As a rapper himself, Ahmed really forms the life and soul of this film, playing Zed, the film’s protagonist. In addition to the storyline about Zed’s new diagnosis of a degenerative disease, the film is also a thoughtful commentary on cultural values and traditions. But, instead of straying into cliché realms with this cultural dimension, the film is beautifully made, with spoken word poetry and writing from Partition of Pakistani essayist, Saadat Hasan Manto, adding a new level of creative flair to Bassam Tariq’s film.

Ahmed’s performance ties in perfectly with the personal cinematic style of the film, and in fact, the actor co-wrote the film with director Tariq as well as starring in it. Ahmed has previously been open about his passion for Islamic art, something that appears throughout the film in various forms; spoken word alongside hallucinatory imagery of the India-Pakistan partition. Some of the lyrics Zed is seen reciting are also from Ahmed’s own songs, where the in-film rapping truly is the cherry on top of this highly personal film.

RELATED: ‘Encounter’: Riz Ahmed, Octavia Spencer, and Director Michael Pearce on Making their Original Science-Fiction Thriller

Ruben Stone in Sound of Metal (2019)

Image via Amazon Studios

Looking for yet another drama where Riz Ahmed plays a musician who is facing a sudden physical affliction? Well, look no further! While it may seem as though this type of film forms a significant chunk of the actor’s IMDb page, hold your breath before any further judgment, as Darius Marder’s Sound of Metal is in fact stylistically completely different to Mogul Mowgli, offering a harsher, rooted-in-reality viewing that contrasts the softer tone of the latter. The film’s realism makes sense given how it is built on the foundations of another unfinished project by Derek Cianfrance; something that was intended to be a docudrama about a real life metal duo.

Ahmed plays a metal drummer, Ruben Stone, who is focusing on his sobriety by throwing himself into his musical interests — until he suddenly begins to experience hearing loss. The drama is centered around Ruben’s recovery from addiction, as well as how he comes to terms with his hearing imparity. Ahmed’s performance is multi-layered and nuanced, where the use of American Sign Language seems to have the effect of amplifying his emotional expressiveness. Still, the way Ahmed portrays Ruben’s struggles is authentic and genuine, tying in with the realistic and very subtly-emotional feel to the film.

Nasir Khan in The Night Of (2016)

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The HBO miniseries, The Night Of, is a must-see mystery drama that follows Nasir Khan as he suddenly faces an arrest for suspicion of murder. Ahmed plays Nasir, a young college student from a hard-working immigrant American-Pakistani family, who goes home with a woman one night only to find her brutally stabbed the next morning. Nasir is often referred to as a “sweet kid,” “doe-eyed,” just a “good Muslim boy.” Ahmed certainly plays the part, offering shy and nervous dialogue in the earlier episodes, before hardening his softer edges in later prison scenes.

While the premise of the show may sound like just another run-of-the-mill crime drama, The Night Of definitely offers something new to its audiences; from the visually-pleasing shots of nighttime New York City, to the show’s important commentary on the questionable sense of justice provided by US criminal courts. As well as Ahmed himself, the rest of the cast also come together brilliantly to create an all-round entertaining watch - how often is it that we get a side story about a lawyer (John Turturro) who is trying to cure his deadly bout of feet eczema, Crisco-and-Saran-wrapping his feet on a day in court. If you’ve been searching for an effortlessly gripping crime drama, look no further!

Rick in Nightcrawler (2014)

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Jake Gyllenhaal stars in Dan Gilroy’s debut, incredibly well-made, creepy thriller about a driven man who is desperate for work, Lou Bloom, who falls into the nighttime world of LA crime-based TV news. While Gyllenhaal’s mesmerizing and unblinking (quite literally — watch out for his eyes) performance as a man on the fringes of society is the center of much Nightcrawler critical acclaim, and very rightly so, Ahmed also provides a brilliant supporting character role as Lou’s previously-homeless, easily pushed-around assistant, Rick.

Ahmed plays Rick with just the right level of subtlety, allowing for intrigue to build as we see Lou and Rick’s relationship play out over time. As Lou becomes increasingly obsessed over obtaining leading footage of any crime scene, Rick becomes more aware of how far Lou will really go, blurring the line between observer and participant for better shots that will sell for more. Ahmed portrays the perfect level of nervous energy, as the dynamic between the pair adds a building sense of anticipation and dread of what is to come, fitting in perfectly with the whole neo-noir, psychological style of this unmissable thriller.

Amin Nawabi in Flee (2021)

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The Oscar-nominated documentary Flee tells the emotion-filled, captivating story of Amin Nawabi, a 36-year-old academic who is grappling with his painful past as a refugee from Afghanistan. The animated documentary tells a true story, where Ahmed voices Amin as he recounts his life story.

The film uses animations to not only portray the interview subjects today, as they are talking to the filmmaker on camera, but also to re-imagine past scenes of Amin and his family’s smuggling journey to Russia and then Sweden, where animated depictions of shipping containers and fractured memories are truly mesmerizing, bringing to life the grim reality of a refugee’s plight. Ahmed’s voice-acting adds a powerful element to the emotionally-devastating character soliloquies, where Amin talks about his family, his sexuality and his struggles to leave behind his past, even today. Director Jonas Pohen Rasmussen manages to vibrantly capture themes of culture, war, loss and grief all in a single documentary feature — don't miss out!

Omar in Four Lions (2010)

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As an older film on this list, Four Lions definitely showcases a different side to Ahmed’s acting portfolio. Chris Morris’s BAFTA-award winning film is composed entirely of dark comedy and brazen humor, where Ahmed plays one of five young Muslim men from Sheffield who plot an inept plan to become suicide bombers. The film is filled with bizarre scenes, some satirical in nature, some pure slapstick comedy, from Omar (Ahmed) demanding his friend be “frogged” (which, as it turns out, just means tying up his friend's legs and shoving him in the boot of a car), to others where Faisal (Adeel Akhtar) is testing out a bomb on a bird. Omar’s scenes with his wife and son offer some heartfelt moments to the film, which are just as quickly forgotten as we see Waj (Kayvan Novak) talk about how he thinks martyrdom will be like the “Rubber Dinghy Rapids'' ride at Alton Towers Theme Park.

As the ringleader of the group, though, Ahmed plays the serious-faced terrorist wannabe with just the right level of satirical quality that fits in with Morris’s comedy style. He is often seen presenting the funniest one-liners to the rest of the group with a deadpan face, coming into his own as a mixed-Yorkshire-accented incompetent fundamentalist who really presents no threat whatsoever. While the film is likely to offend people across the political spectrum, one thing’s for sure: it is never boring!

Shafiq in The Road to Guantanamo (2006)

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In 2001, three British citizens (later named “The Tipton Three”) traveled to Pakistan to attend a wedding. After deciding to then visit Afghanistan, they were captured and detained by the U.S. for more than two years at the infamous detainment camp in the Guantanamo Bay Naval Base, Cuba. Directed by Micheal Winterbottom,The Road to Guantanamo is a docudrama that tells the story of the three, documenting the horrific treatment they endured over their time in incarceration.

The hard-hitting film uses a balance of dramatic reconstruction, subject interviews and news footage, where pure emotion drives forward the intense tale without ever bordering on sensationalism. Ahmed delivers a quietly powerful and emotive performance as Shafiq, one of the three British Muslim friends, who we see undergoing torturous and inhumane treatment at the hands of U.S. soldiers; his story being just one part of the entire conspiracy of unlawful detention and human rights violations.

Riz in The Long Goodbye (2022)

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Finally, it's time to delve into the short film that led to Ahmed’s first Academy Award. The Long Goodbye is a powerful, emotive short film that explores racism and the otherness felt by people of color in the western world. Ahmed not only stars in the short, but also co-wrote it with Aneil Karia, and the film really does have the mark of another of Ahmed’s deep-dives into identity, culture and racial politics.

The film starts off showing a typical Asian family at home preparing for a wedding. Quickly, the story takes a horror-like turn, as a group of armed, right-wing rioters start breaking into people's homes and terrorizing residents of color. The pace of the second act is what really draws your eye to the chaos and horror of the nationalist group and their actions. Ahmed’s expressive face, as always, reflects the terror of the whole family, and the accompanying soundtrack is timed perfectly with the fast-paced footage, amplifying that sense of sheer panic. The soundtrack is in fact taken from Ahmed’s own 2020 concept album, also called "The Long Goodbye," which takes a look at Britain’s post-Brexit relationship with British South Asians. Brexit, for many, simply reinforced the idea of an “us” and a “them” mentality, offering another contextual element to the film itself. With everything happening in Ukraine and recent news commentary that has focused on sympathy towards just those refugees who are “Europeans with blue eyes and blonde hair,” Ahmed’s short holds a particularly important place in today’s political climate.