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Riz Ahmed has a message for Fahadh Faasil, Vir Das after beating them to Digger role with Tom Cruise
Riz Ahmed stars alongside Tom Cruise in Digger, a dark comedy directed by Alejandro G Inarritu.
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Academy Award-winning actor Riz Ahmed will next be seen in Tom Cruise-starrer Digger, the satirical dark comedy directed by Alejandro G. Inarritu. The role had also been auditioned for by Indian actors Vir Das and Malayalam star Fahadh Faasil. In a recent interaction, Riz spoke about beating the two actors to the role.
Riz on replacing Vir Das and Fahadh Faasil
Speaking to SCREEN, Riz was asked what message he would like to give Vir Das and Fahadh Faasil. He said, “Sorry. Thank you for your incredible work, and I hope we get to work together.”
Fahadh has previously spoken about his experience with Digger. In a conversation with Cue Studio, he revealed that the filmmaker did not find his accent convincing enough for the role. He said, “To perfect the accent, I was told to go to the US and stay there for three or four months. But they weren't ready to pay for that. That's why I skipped it. Otherwise, I would have gone running. The commercial aspects of it wouldn't have worked out. Also, to bother so much for an accent, I didn’t feel that kind of fire for it.”
Vir Das previously revealed on X (formerly Twitter) that he auditioned twice for Digger. However, the role eventually went to Riz Ahmed. After the trailer was released, Vir wrote on X, “Gave two auditions for this. They went with Riz Ahmed. Was severely crestfallen, but that's life. This script is insanity, in such a good way.”
All about Digger
Digger also stars John Goodman, Sandra Hüller, Michael Stuhlbarg and Jesse Plemons. Riz Ahmed plays Ganesh in the film, which follows a powerful oil tycoon (Tom Cruise) trying to prove he can save humanity from a disaster he has unleashed. Digger is scheduled for international release on September 30 and for North American release on October 2.
About Riz Ahmed
Riz Ahmed, whose full name is Rizwan Ahmed, is a British-Pakistani actor, rapper and filmmaker. He broke through internationally with films such as Nightcrawler, Jason Bourne and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, before earning widespread acclaim for his performances in Sound of Metal.
For Sound of Metal, Ahmed became the first Muslim performer nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actor. He later won an Oscar as a producer for the live-action short film The Long Goodbye in 2022.
