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Riz Ahmed dropped 22 pounds in three weeks for 'Mogul Mowgli' role: 'I wouldn't recommend it to anyone'

By Megan Armstrong | Last updated 9/7/21

Riz Ahmed made history earlier this year as the first Muslim and first Pakistani person to be nominated at the Oscars for his leading Sound of Metal role. The 38-year-old actor followed that by dropping weight at a record pace for Mogul Mowgli.

The Bassam Tariq-directed drama began its run in select theaters last Friday (Sept. 3) and stars Ahmed as British-Pakistani rapper Zed as he prepares to embark on his first world tour but instead is faced with a debilitating autoimmune disease that derails his big break before it begins:

Ahmed further shared with IndieWire that the role was "about intense weight loss."

"I lost 10 kilos [about 22 pounds] in three weeks," he revealed. "I wouldn't recommend it to anyone. I had a professional dietician working with me, but it was really grueling and took me emotionally to an intense place, which probably informed the movie. That was a big part of it, being in a place of weakness and fatigue and insatiable hunger."

Ahmed co-wrote the film with Tariq.

Most recently, Ahmed mourned the loss of his The Night Of co-star Michael K. Williams, who was found dead at his Brooklyn apartment Monday (Sept. 6) from a possible drug overdose.

"This is a devastating loss," Ahmed said in a statement shared with Variety. "Michael K. Williams gave us some of TV’s most iconic characters. He had a strength and sensitivity that rarely go together, all wrapped up in a style uniquely his own, both on and off set. His talent was only matched by the size of his heart—he was incredibly generous. He looked out for me in many ways when we worked together. His work is already timeless, and it will live on."

“Once during a tough week of shooting, he finds he has an afternoon off," he continued of the iconic The Wire star. "But I still have to shoot, and I’m struggling. I return to my trailer at the end of the day to find he’s spent his time off at a store, buying me the nicest and probably most expensive jacket I own to this day. Little hand written note, made no big deal of it, he did it just to give me a boost and show love. Another time I go to his apartment to rehearse. I’m analyzing the hell out of the scenes. He tells me ‘stop thinking about it, try dreaming about it.’ Took me years to even understand. He brought heart to the art.”

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