Riz Ahmed discusses why he agreed to Michael Pearce's Encounter

Riz Ahmed, who will next be seen in Amazon Prime Video's Encounter, recently spoke out about what drew him to work with filmmaker Michael Pearce and why he accepted the role in the film. The sci-fi flick is about a decorated Marine who embarks on a rescue mission to save his two young sons from an unknown threat. The boys will have to leave their childhoods behind as their journey takes them in increasingly dangerous directions.

According to reports in ANI, Riz discussed what prompted him to accept the role and how he prepared to do justice to his portrayal of Malik while also impressing the director. The actor stated that after reading the screenplay for the film, he was immediately drawn to the character of Malik and impressed by the writing's sophistication. He shared that it's unusual to come across a script that is both emotionally engaging and grounded in character while also having the momentum of a chase thriller with sci-fi elements; that combination piqued his interest.

The Oscar-nominated actor also revealed that he was a big fan of Michael Pearce's first film. He shared that Beast is a nuanced character portrait and a film about relationships, but it also manages to play like a mystery thriller, and the script for Encounter does something similar.

Riz went on to say that not many directors can walk such a fine line, but Michael most emphatically can. The actor knew that the filmmaker was one of the great directors of the future, so the combination of the script and the opportunity to work with him made this project a no-brainer for him.

Riz arranged to meet with Pearce over coffee and personally lobbied to play Malik, determined to persuade him that he was the right choice. The actor revealed that his ultimate goal was to simply put himself in Pearce's hands and trust him because he believed in him so much.

Because the protagonist was originally written as a white man, one of the first topics of discussion between Ahmed, who is of Pakistani descent, and Pearce was reimagining the protagonist as a South Asian and what that would mean for the overall story. They eventually agreed that seeing a father and son who resembled the Khan family being pursued across the Southwest would significantly raise the stakes of the film.

Riz further explained that when one considers all of the baggage and preconceptions surrounding a character like Malik Khan, they both felt it could actually increase the potential alienation the character feels and would naturally heighten the tension as he and his children are being pursued.

Michael Pearce wrote and directed the film, which stars Octavia Spencer, Rory Cochrane, Lucian-River Chauhan, and Aditya Geddada in pivotal roles. Encounter will be available on Amazon Prime Video on December 10, 2021.