RIZ AHMED IS ON THE SHOW TONIGHT.
RIZ, IT'S SO NICE TO SEE YOU.
BEFORE WE ARE DO BSH-- BEFORE WE CHAT I WANT TO WISH YOU A HAPPY
BIRTHDAY FOR YESTERDAY.
DID YOU HAVE SHALL-- WHAT DID YOU GET UP TO?
>> YOU KNOW WHAT, I JUST, I KIND OF WOKE UP, I HAD ICE CREAM FOR
BREAKFAST, LIKE A TEN YEAR OLD APPROACH TO A BIRTHDAY, SO NICE,
ICE CREAM, EATING JUNK FOOD, I'M STAYING BY THE BEACH SO I KIND
OF WENT DOWN THERE FOR THE SUNSET.
DIDN'T DO MUCH WHICH IS PERFECT.
>> I DO FEEL LIKE ICE CREAM IS THE ONLY GOOD THING ABOUT BEING
AN ADULT.
DO YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN, THE ABILITY TO HAVE ICE CREAM
WHENEVER YOU WANT, BECAUSE THE AMOUNT OF TIMES I TELL PIE
DAUGHTER THAT SHE CAN'T HAVE AN ICE CREAM AM AND WHEN I SAY IT
BUT I CAN, BECAUSE NO ONE IS GOING TO STOP ME.
AND I DO.
I ACTUALLY GET ONE OUT AND EAT IT RIGHT IN FRONT OF HER.
>> GOOD PARENTING, I LIKE IT.
>> James: NOW YOU HAVE BEEN HERE IN CALIFORNIA THE LAST
COUPLE OF MONTHS SHOOTING A FILM HERE.
WHAT HAS IT BEEN LIKE, HAVE YOU ENJOYED YOUR TIME HERE ON THE
WEST COAST.
>> I HAVE, I HAVE LOVED IT.
WELL, I SHOULDN'T SAY BUT, I HAVE LOVED IT, A BREAT CHANCE
FROM LONDON WITH THE LOCKDOWN.
BUT I GUESS MY ISSUE HASN'T BEEN THE CALIFORNIA WEATHER BUT MY
PRECON ACCEPTING OF IT.
I HAD THIS IDEA IN THE U.K., I DON'T KNOW IF YOU HAD THIS AT
ALL WHEN YOU FIRS CAME OVER, THAT IT IS ALWAYS TROPICAL HERE.
>> James: YEAH.
>> SO WE HAVE BEEN FILMING ALL OVER CALIFORNIA, UP TO MAMMOTH
AND ALL THESE MOUNTAINS AND I HAVE BEEN FREEZINGK DUDE.
I HAVE JUST BEEN IN CALIFORNIA COLDER THAN I HAVE BEEN IN
LONDON.
>> James: YES.
>> IT IS I PACKED HAWAIIAN SHIRTS THINKING I WILL BE ON THE
WEST COAST AND JUST FREEZING MY ASS OFF.
>> James: NOW ONE THING I DIDN'T KNOW, ALL THE TIMES YOU
COME ON THE SHOW, I NEVER KNEW THAT YOU STUDIED POLITICS AND
PHILOSOPHY AT OXFORD UNIVERSITY.
AND THAT, I WAS REALLY, I JUST DIDN'T KNOW THAT AT ALL AM BUT
THEN I HEARD AND THIS DIDN'T SHOCK ME BUT YOU EVEN FOUND THE
TIME WHEN YOU WERE THERE TO PUT ON A CLUB NIGHT WHICH HAS BECOME
ICONIC OVER THE YEARS.
WHAT SORT OF CLUB NIGHT WAS IT?
>> WHEN I FIRST TURNED UP AT OXFORD I FELT A LITTLE BIT OUT
OF PLACE.
I SAW PEOPLE IN BOW TIES AND BOLAR HATS.
I WALKED UP THERE WITH MY DAD AND FELT A BIT OUT OF PLACE.
I REMEMBER THE FIRST PERSON I PET AT OXFORD WAS THIS WOMAN
LIVING NEXT TO ME, I DOCK KNOCKED ON THE DOOR TO SEE IF I
COULD BORROW THE PHONE CHARGER.
THE FIRST THING SHE LAUGHED AND SAID YOU REMIND ME OF LEG IT IS
UNBELIEVABLE.
I SAID OKAY, THIS IS GOING TO BE A CHALLENGE.
I THOUGHT HOW CAN I MAKE THIS SPACE A BIT MORE MY OWN AND
SOMEWHERE I CAN BE COMFORTABLE.
I REMEMBER TRYING TO GO TO ONE OF THE FORMAL DINNERS EARLY ON.
AND I DIDN'T HAVE THE RIGHT KIND OF TUXEDO, YOU KNOW, BLACK TIE
AND ALL THAT KIND OF STUFF.
HI THE WRONG DRESS CODE.
SO I WOULD LIKE TO THINK THAT THE CLUB NIGHT, I WAS PASSIONATE
ABOUT MUSIC AND WANTED TO CREATE A SPACE WHERE PEOPLE COULD BE
CONFIDENT AND SAVE THOSE PEOPLE FROM DRESS CODE, AND TURN THEM
AWAY WHEN THEY TURN UP AT THE DOOR.
BUT HIT AND RUN KIND OF RAN IN OXFORD FOR A LONG TIME.
AND MY MATE THE DJ IS STILL RUNNING IN UPPER MANCHESTER IS A
BIG PART OF THE MUSIC SCENE.
>> James: WOULD YOU EMCEE, WOULD YOU RAP THERE IN THOSE.
>> YEAH, IT WAS AN OPPORTUNITY FOR ME TO CONTINUE DOING THAT
BECAUSE I STARTED EMCEEING ON-- M.C.KING ON RADIO STATIONS,
I LEFT LONDON FOR UNIVERSITY AND I WANTED TO FIND A WAY OF
KEEPING UP MY SKILLS AND CONTINUE TO DEVELOP AND GROW.
SO I DON'T KNOW WHO WOULD PUT ME ON A CLUB NIGHT, I DON'T KNOW
ANY WITHIN HERE, SO I WILL START MY OWN.
>> James: IS IT TRUE YOU ENDED UP ONCE RAPPING FOR YOUR FREEDOM
ON A NAVY BASE WHEN WERE YOU IN PAKISTAN.
>> YEAH.
>> James: HOW DOES THAT EVEN HAPPEN.
>> THAT IS WHAT I WAS THINKI
WITH A FRIEND OF MINE WHO WAS A DIRECTOR.
WE WENT TO GET SOME INSPIRATION AND START PROT JECT.
AND WE SAID LACK AT THIS SHRINE, WE WENT TO VISIT ONE, YOU HAVE
TO GET IN A BOAT ACROSS THIS I LAND, OUTSIDE CAR ACHI.
WE WALKED UP THERE, THERE WAS A SECURITY CHECKPOINT.
OKAY.
BRITISH PASSPORT, AMERICAN PASSPORT, YOU ARE FOREIGN
NATIONALS ON A NAVAL BASE.
WE JUST-- WE ARE NOW FOREIGN NALTS ON A MILITARY FACILITY.
SO WHAT YOU ARE DOING HERE IS FINE, YOU HAVE TO COME WITH US.
AND THEY PUT US INSIDE THEIR LITTLE HOLDING BUILDING BUILDING
AND THERE WERE PEOPLE, YOU KNOW, IN THIS LITTLE JAIL CELL LOOKING
NOT TOO HAPPY.
AND WE WERE LIKE WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO NOW.
BUT THE THING IS DESPITE WHAT PEOPLE SEASON THE NEWS, THE
CULTURE AND SUCH A MASSIVE PART OF PAKISTAN AND THE VIBE OVER
THERE, SO WHEN I TOLD I WAS THERE AS A MUS IG AND A
WRAPPER,-- MUSICIAN, AND RAPPER, THEY SAID YOU ARE A POET.
YOU ARE A BIT YOUNG TO BE A POAT.
THAT IS LIFELONG LEARNING TO BE A GOOD POET.
>> SO I HAD TO GIVE THEM LITERALLY A FREESTYLE TO RAP AND
SHOW THEM WHAT I GOT AND SEE IF THEY LIKED IT.
AND LUCKILY THEY DID AND THEY LET US GO.
SO IT WAS ONE OF THOSE KIND OF RANDOM EXPERIENCES YOU KOL
RENT-- COULDN'T REALLY MAKE UP BUT IN A WAY A BEAUTIFUL INCITE
INTO THE COUNTRIES ON WHAT PEOPLE THINK THEY ARE.
>> James: ABSOLUTELY.
NOW LET'S TALK ABOUT YOUR BRILLIANT NEW MOVIE SOUND OF
METAL.
YOUR PERFORMANCE IN THIS FIM, LIKE SO MANY OF YOUR
PERFORMANCES IS EXTRAORDINARY.
FOR ANYONE WHO DOESN'T KNOW TELL THEM WHAT IT IS ABOUT AND WHO
YOU PLAY.
>> THANK YOU, I PLAY A GUY CALLED RUBIN, HE IS A DRUMMER.
HE DRUMS IN A PUNK BAND WITH HIS GIRLFRIEND LOU, THEY LIVE
TOGETHER, IN AN RV, MUSIC IS THEIR LIFE, THE BED ROCK OF
THEIR RELATIONSHIP.
ONE DAY RUBIN SUDDENLY LOSES HIS HEARINGS, VERY SUDDENLY AND WITH
THAT HE THREATENS HIS RELATIONSHIP, HIS JOB AND HIS
SENSE OF WHO HE IS.
SO THE FILM IS REALLY ABOUT LOSING-- THE JOURNEY FROM THE
THINGS THAT HE THOUGHT DE FINED HIM INTO MAYBE A NEW VERSION OF
HIMSELF AND WHETHER HE IS READY TO ACCEPT THE NEW SITUATION OR
NOT.
>> THE FILM IS SO BRILLIANTLY MADE AND SHOT.
MAIN OF YOUR COSTARS IN THE MOVIE ARE DEFINITELY-- I KNOW
THAT YOU LEARNED SIGN LANGUAGE FOR THE ROLE.
WHAT WAS IT LIKE FOR YOU AS AN ACTOR TO BE ACTING NONVERBALLY?
>> YEAH.
IT WAS A TREMENDOUS-- TREMENDOUS PRIVILEGE TO LEARN AMERICAN SIGN
LANGUAGE AND WELCOMED INTO THE DEAF COMMUNITY IT IS INTERESTING
BECAUSE A LOT OF PEOPLE IN THE DEAF COMMUNITY SAID TO ME THAT
THEY THINK THAT HEARING PEOPLE ARE EMOTIONALLY DE PRESSED AND
THE REASON FOR THAT IS BECAUSE WE HIDE BEHIND WORDS AND I FOUND
THAT TO BE TRUE WHEN I BECAME FLEW IN ASL AND WAS TALKING
ABOUT CERTAIN SUBJECTS I FOUND MYSELF GETTING EMOTIONAL WHEN
SPEAKING ABOUT IT, YOU THINK ABOUT IT, YOU ARE COMMUNICATING
WITH IT WITH YOUR WHOLE BODY, AND SO IT WAS REALLY ENRICHING
FOR ME TO HAVE THAT EXPERIENCE, THE DEAF COMMUNITY TAUGHT ME THE
TRUE MEANING OF LISTENING, THE COMMUNICATING, YOU COMMUNICATE
IN A WAY THAT IS CONNECTED.
>> James: I CAN'T TELL YOU HOW PROUD YOU SHOULD BE OF THE
PERFORMANCE YOU HAVE GIVEN IN THIS FILM.