Riz Ahmed, who played the role of a drummer who begins to lose his hearing in the Sound of Metal charted history by becoming the first Muslim to be nominated in the leading actor category at the Academy Awards. This is also for the first time that two Asian actors have been nominated in the Best Actor category. Nine of the 20 acting nods went to non-white performers, including Riz and a South Korean Yuh-Jung Youn of Minari , in what Variety Magazine described as the most diverse acting Oscars slate ever. Sharing his excitement on social media, Riza said: “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,” he added. Wow! I'm honoured to be nominated by my fellow actors alongside such inspi...