British Pakistani actor Riz Ahmed made history as the first Muslim nominated for the Oscar for the lead actor role. Ahmed accomplished the feat with his powerful performance in Amazon’s Sound of Metal, which has been nominated for six Academy Awards in 2021 - best picture, best actor, best supporting actor for Paul Raci, best original screenplay, best editing, and best sound.

He was previously the first Muslim, and first Asian, to win a lead acting Emmy in 2017 for lead actor in a limited series or movie for The Night Of.

The Oscar nomination also makes Ahmed the first performer of Pakistani descent to land in any acting race.

The 38-year-old British-Pakistani actor’s Oscar nomination alongside Steven Yeun for Minari makes it the first time two actors of Asian descent have been nominated for lead actor in the same year.

Reacting to the news, Ahmed tweeted: “Wow! I'm honoured to be nominated by my fellow actors alongside such inspiring performances, and am grateful to the Academy for their support and encouragement. I’m equally thrilled for our visionary writer-director Darius Marder and the brilliant Paul Raci...”

Ahmed also has been seen in films such as Rogue One, Venom, The Sisters Brothers, Nightcrawler, Four Lions and the recent Mogul Mowgli, which he also co-wrote. He also has a career as a rapper and musician and in 2020 released the album The Long Goodbye.

In Sound of Metal, Ahmed stars as Ruben, a rock-and-roll drummer and recovering addict who loses his hearing.

The film first premiered in 2019 at TIFF and was then acquired for distribution by Amazon Studios.

Mahershala Ali, an American actor and former rapper, previously became the first Muslim actor to win an Oscar, winning in the Best Supporting Actor category for Moonlight in 2017 and for Green Book in 2019.