While we’ve learned many things about the production of Rogue One over the years, one cast member who hasn’t spoken much about the project in the near-decade since its release is Riz Ahmed, who played Imperial defector Bodhi Rook.
Ahmed was one of the Rogue One actors who didn’t return for Andor. At first glance, that would explain why we haven’t heard him talk a lot about the movie over the years. However, we now know that the production wasn’t an entirely pleasant experience for him.
Ahmed was on the most recent episode of Penn Badgley’s Podcrushed podcast (hat tip Hollywood Reporter), where he discussed, among other topics, his time in Star Wars. It was here he admitted he suffered from serious, persistent pain and exhaustion during filming. At one point, he was even hospitalized.
“It was like building myself up from scratch. It was super scary and intense and quite prolonged actually…
“Something very silent and very intense had happened to me and I wasn’t getting better quickly.”
Ahmed’s health scare was understandably distressing for him, but as he went on to explain, he turned it into a learning experience.
“I always think that when you’re brought to your knees, you’re halfway towards praying. When something is taken away from you, you become even more acutely aware of everything you have – and a bodily level, on a health level, you realize like, you don’t control anything, man. You don’t control a single thing. You don’t even control your body.”
Thankfully, Ahmed ultimately recovered and he has since gone on to enjoy a successful career. Interestingly enough, the actor’s health incident during Rogue One‘s production motivated him to accept what would become one of his most-acclaimed roles. A few years after joining the Star Wars universe, he played a heavy metal drummer who becomes deaf in the movie Sound of Metal. That film enjoyed rave reviews, and Ahmed says his then-recent hardship helped him identify with his character.
“When I read the script, I was like, ‘I know what this is, you know, and I need to tell this story. The story you need finds you at the right time.”
It’s sad to hear Ahmed endured these health troubles while filming Rogue One. Given his eagerness to be cast in the film, it’s unfortunate his experience filming it wasn’t an easier one. His performance was rightly well-received in that movie, and we wish him all the best in his future projects.
Eric has been a fan of Star Wars ever since the age of five (or so) when his parents sat him down in front of a TV with pizza and a Sprite and showed him the original trilogy. He keeps trying to convince more fans to read the amazing 1980s Star Wars newspaper comics by Archie Goodwin and Al Williamson. When he’s not reading, watching or playing Star Wars media, he’s often enjoying other great fantasy and science fiction sagas or playing roleplaying games with his friends.