‘Venom’ Star Riz Ahmed Says He’s Lost Two Family Members To Coronavirus

Riz Ahmed, the Emmy-winning British actor who starred in Venom and Star Wars, said he had lost two family members recently to the coronavirus (COVID-19).

“I just want to believe their deaths and all the others aren’t for nothing,” Ahmed said. “We gotta step up to reimagine a better future.”

The actor also shared his own struggles and perceptions during the quarantine.

“I’ve never been good at sitting still,” he said. “For me, clinging to an old-world was not an option. It’s weird not to engage with the reality of our global situation right now, as an artist or as someone who is communicating to a load of different people. “

“You have to say yes to the present moment. You have to make friends with the present moment and flow in it.”

Ahmed was born in London to a British Pakistani family. 

On Wednesday, he mourned the death of Irrfan Khan, the Bollywood legend who recently passed away due to coronavirus.

“I never met him, but he was an inspiration and a hero to me and millions of others,” he wrote in his condolence tweet.