Riz Ahmed has said he is “certainly not” representing the deaf community in his Oscar-nominated role in new film Sound of Metal.
The Rogue One star plays a heavy metal drummer who loses his hearing in the critically acclaimed film, which is in the running for six Academy Awards including best picture and best actor, and features a number of deaf performers.
Ahmed, 38, said the director Darius Marder wanted to cast an actor who comes from hearing culture in the lead role of Ruben because that is the experience of the character.
He said: “I’m certainly not representing the deaf community, or representing the deaf experience.
“I question whether anyone can represent the deaf experience. It’s one that’s very rich and has multifaceted diversity and has many different experiences within it.”
Ahmed, who is also a rapper known by his stage name Riz MC, learned to play the drums and speak American Sign Language for the role and said the experience of spending long periods of time in silence inspired his performance.
Sound of Metal will be in cinemas from May 17
