Quote · On Purpose with Jay Shetty
Riz Ahmed: How to Silence Your Inner Critic (And Build REAL Self Worth)
Where this was said
When Life Falls Apart Overnight
At 37:25 · chapter starts 32:07
Riz Ahmed shares something he says he has never discussed publicly before. In 2015, one week into filming Star Wars: Rogue One — his first ever studio movie — he woke up unable to get out of bed. What he initially dismissed as a pulled muscle rapidly worsened. He ended up at the hospital where he was born, near his parents' home, and was immediately told to be admitted. His response — 'I can't, I'm filming Star Wars' — was met with blunt medical urgency. He spent 2.5 months in hospital. [1] — Riz Ahmed "Riz Ahmed started filming Star Wars: Rogue One — his first-ever studio movie — and one week in, woke up unable to walk. He was hospitalised…" 37:20 His weight dropped to just under 50 kilograms. He couldn't lift his arms or swallow food — a darkly ironic detail given that his cast and crew kept sending meals to his ward. While friends texted in excitement about his Star Wars set photos appearing online, he was trying to attract a nurse's attention so he wouldn't wet the bed. He describes the entire episode as drawing directly on the autobiography of Mogul Mowgli, the film he later made about an artist who suddenly loses the ability to walk.
Riz Ahmed used to think acting was about putting on a mask. Now he thinks it's about taking one off. The most personal thing is the most universal thing — which is why Bait is built entirely from his own insecurities, neuroses, and real life.
Riz Ahmed started filming Star Wars: Rogue One — his first-ever studio movie — and one week in, woke up unable to walk. He was hospitalised for 2.5 months, dropped to under 50 kilograms, and feared he might die. While friends texted about his Star Wars photos, he was desperately trying to get a nurse's attention so he wouldn't wet the bed.
Riz Ahmed spent 2.5 months in hospital with an autoimmune condition that left him unable to walk, dropping to under 50 kilograms, during the filming of Star Wars: Rogue One.
During his hospitalisation Riz Ahmed's weight fell to just under 50 kilograms — approximately 100 pounds — and he lost the ability to lift his arms or swallow food.
