Oscar nominee Riz Ahmed and his wife, author Fatima Farheen Mirza just made their red carpet debut at the 2021 Oscars. Ahmed who's nominated for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role (his first nomination from the Academy) for his role in the drama Sound of Metal opted for a crisp black Prada suit, while Mirza wore a long, caped powder blue gown by Valentino. This is the first time the couple has been seen public together; Ahmed revealed news of his marriage early this year on a podcast titled Grounded with Louis Theroux podcast. He revealed the identity of his wife at The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. "We did it in a backyard, which is nice in lots of ways. And I think the nicest thing about it was you didn't have 500 aunties hanging around you, pinching your cheeks," he remarked.
The actor could be a surprise winner in his category, as his performance as a hearing impaired heavy metal drummers has earned excellent reviews, eventhough he's not the frontrunner at the moment. "Sound of Metal is about how a health crisis can cut you off from your life and loved ones, and force you to grow in unexpected ways. In a challenging year for so many, I hope this story can inspire us to forge new and deeper connections with ourselves and others ," he tweeted recently.
"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, As well as our editor Mikkel, sound designer Nicolas, and co-writer Abe Marder. These nominations represents the time, generosity and talents of so many — all of our incredible cast, crew, producers and in particular I’d like to thank my mentors in the drumming, addiction recovery, and D/deaf communities," Ahmed added.