Rogue One: A Star Wars Story - Riz Ahmed Interview

Riz Ahmed in, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story

Watch out for Riz Ahmed. This rising star is about to blast into the universe in  Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, a movie that will most likely make him a house hold name. 

Up and coming actor Riz Ahmed has a lot to be thankful for. He stole scenes from Jake Gyllenhaal in Nightcrawler, held his own opposite Matt Damon in Jason Bourne and was unforgettable in the recent HBO series, The Night Of. Now his life is about turn upside-down when audiences see him in, Rogue One: A Star Wars Story.

In the film, he plays  Bodhi Rook, a defecting Imperial cargo pilot who sets in motions the events of this Star Wars story.

The main plot in Rogue One follows a group of Rebel Soldiers who infiltrate the ranks of the Imperial Army to steal plans for the first Death Star. It is being set up as a prequel to the 1977 classic Star Wars: Episode 1V – A New Hope and is being compared by some to a sci-fi version of Saving Private Ryan.

LucasFIlm brings us this first of the Star Wars standalone films. It's an all-new epic adventure set in a time of conflict where a group of unlikely heroes band together on a mission to steal the plans to the Death Star, the Empire’s ultimate weapon of destruction. This key event in the Star Wars timeline brings together ordinary people who choose to do extraordinary things, and in doing so, become part of something greater than themselves.  
 

Felicity Jones stars alongside Mads Mikkelsen, who plays her father, Galen Erso. Diego Luna (Milk) stars as Captain Cassian Andor, with Donnie Yen (Ip Man, Blade II) as the blind spiritual warrior Chirrut Imwe, Jiang Wen (Let the Bullets Fly, Devils on the Doorstep) as his heavily armored best friend Baze Malbus, Alan Tudyk (Firefly) as the droid K-2SO, Riz Ahmed (Nightcrawler, Four Lions) as the Rebel pilot Bodhi Rook, plus Forest Whitaker (The Last King of Scotland) as Saw Gerrera, a character first introduced in Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and Ben Mendelsohn (Bloodline, Mississippi Grind) as the film’s main antagonist.

I spoke with Riz Ahmed about being a part of this amazing franchise and how he prepared for this role of a lifetime. 

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story in theaters on December 16, 2016.