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6 Nov 2025 19:58
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  •   Home > News > Entertainment

    Riz Ahmed felt under pressure to "people-please" at the start of his career

    The 37-year-old actor has admitted he spent years trying to "contort [himself] around other people’s expectations", but he's now slowly learning to trust his gut instinct


    He explained: "It’s something I’m still learning to do. If you grow up wearing different masks and code-switching, then your survival is premised on your ability to contort yourself around other people’s expectations and to people-please.

    "That’s why I feel like I’ve been able to play a range of different roles, because I’ve had to live that range of different versions of myself. But what it can sometimes rob you of is a clear handle on your core, what your core values are."

    The London-born actor - who stars in the drama films 'Mogul Mowgli' and 'Sound of Metal' - feels he's going through a "process" as someone who's becoming more confident in his own ideas.

    Riz also feels like he's starting to "embrace" his true self, having tried so hard to please other people earlier in his career.

    He told The Times Magazine: "I was reading this interview with Vincent Cassel about how as a young actor you’re trying to escape who you are, and as an older actor you start to embrace it.

    "I think maybe it’s just a process, because now I’m in a place where I’m saying, ‘Yeah, let’s do 'Mogul Mowgli'. We’ll use my music, we’ll take elements of my life, let’s make that. OK, let’s do 'Sound of Metal'. I’m going to create from the most personal place I have; I want to learn the drums every day.’

    "As opposed to, like, stepping into a mould of someone else’s making."

    © 2025 Bang Showbiz, NZCity

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     Today's News

    Entertainment:
    Pete Davidson won't get rid of his tattoo tributes to his parents 19:37

    Entertainment:
    Drew Barrymore "did not recognise the person [she] saw in the mirror" following "a round of hormone therapy" 19:07

    Business:
    A substantial equipment failure's knocked out power for more than 23-thousand households and businesses in the Far North 18:57

    Entertainment:
    Atomic Kitten's fame almost broke Natasha Hamilton 18:37

    Law and Order:
    Five people have been arrested following a gang tangi in Rotorua today 18:37

    Entertainment:
    Robert Pattinson enjoyed eating food from Jennifer Lawrence's bin 18:07

    Law and Order:
    A Rotorua man found with imported objectionable material described as New Zealand's most serious case - has lost his bid to keep his name secret 18:07

    Law and Order:
    Condemnation for Jevon McSkimming - after he's pleaded guilty to having child exploitation and bestiality images on work devices 17:57

    Cricket:
    Black Caps white ball captain Mitch Santner is keen to spread the bowling load in the T20 series against the West Indies 17:47

    Entertainment:
    Sarah Paulson spat a potato chip into Kim Kardashian's eye 17:37


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