Riz Ahmed has officially confirmed that he’s a dad.
Ahmed mentioned that he and his wife, Fatima Farheen Mirza, have a young child — whose age and gender he did not disclose — during a conversation with Club Ciné, posted on Substack Friday.
While speaking about some of his biggest movie roles, including one in the upcoming thriller Relay, Ahmed was asked what role he’s “proudest of.”
“Being a father. Because it’s not about me,” he said.
Ahmed and Mirza met in 2018, when the actor was preparing for his role in Sound of Metal, in a cafe in Brooklyn, New York.
“I was writing a script. I was actually working on the thing that I’m editing now,” he told CBS Mornings. “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?’”
He also acknowledged how his relationship has ultimately shaped his career.
“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,” he added.
The couple tied the knot in an intimate ceremony in 2020. However, they have chosen to keep their child out of the spotlight.
Still, Ahmed has spoken about the scary experiences he’s had since welcoming a child. During an interview with The Hollywood Reporter Friday, he recalled a time when his family was robbed, resulting in his child’s sentimental items being stolen.
“All our belongings and prized possessions were robbed on a truck that was moving from California to New York,” he said. “We just had a baby, and so all of our photos and memory cards and really precious items were robbed.”
He also noted that the robbery happened right before he started filming Relay, where he plays Ash, who protects whistleblowers from corrupt companies through an anonymous call center.
Ultimately, Ahmed’s real-life difficulties after the robbery shaped his performance in the movie. “Sometimes, I would have the assistant director read out the email or the list of things stolen, or the latest text message from the person that was investigating,” he said.
“So that experience gave me a way into this character that was very visceral and honest. And I’m just going to be real with you, that’s partly why this film means so much to me,” Ahmed added. “We, as a family, were living through a similar version of loss and loss of control that my character was dealing with.”
