Racism & Stereotyping in Hollywood:— Arab actors have widely been typecast in humiliating terrorist roles in Hollywood since it's creation, and are almost never offered any other role. GQ Magazine interviewed seven actors in 2015, almost all of whom were of Arab descent. They detailed their roles, working conditions, future prospects, attitudes, outlook and family life to the reporter in the investigative piece. Although their salaries are not wholly known, one of them said although the work is degrading and inhumane, they are paid well; having been given $30,000 dollars for a few weeks worth of work playing "terrorist number 4" in a $55 million dollar budget film. In order to stand out at auditions, one of the actors even said he treats White people "like shit" in order to come across as a unfriendly and aggressive as possible, breaking his character only at the end of the audition. Others gave account that whenever such a role comes up, the actors support and console each other at the audition because "we're in this together" , which is unusual given that actors are normally unwilling to do this. One of the actors even said the auditions themselves were angering. The agents of these actors are no better either, only ever looking for terrorist roles. When they protest they are never rang again. A tragic consequence of such a typecasting career has even lead to the pre-school daughter of one of the actors tell her friends "[my dad] hijacks airplanes [for a living]" . [60]

Red Granite Pictures:— is a production company that has worked with some of the biggest actors in Hollywood. The company produced their very first film in 2011, "Friends with Kids" (2011), [53] that starred Megan Fox. The was barely a success, only grossing $12 million dollars from an approximate $10 million dollar budget. Their next film, "Out of the Furnace" came out in 2013, [54] and was a total failure, despite Christian Bale working on the film. It only grossed $15.6 million dollars out of an approximate $22 million dollar budget. [55] This however did not stop the studio from persevering. Their third film, the "Wolf of Wall Street" (2013) was a box office success and was also met with critical acclaim, being nominated for several Academy Awards and grossed $392 million dollars out of a $100 million dollar budget. [56] It's leading role was performed by Leonardio di Caprio, and was directed by Martin Scorsese. [56] The studio also experimented with a smaller film with Daniel Radcliffe, which bombed at the box office, grossing only approximately $3 million dollars. However, this was more than made up for in the release of "Dumb and Dumber To" (2014), and "Daddy's Home" (2015), [57] which grossed $170 million dollars [58] and $240 million dollars respectively, on a combined budget of $90 million dollars. At least $372 million generated from their films have been taken from US ticket sales alone, whereas globally they have taken $834 million dollars from all six of their films. [59]

Aziz Ansari—: was born on February 23rd, 1983, who's ancestry can be traced back to his native India, from which his parents had fled from. He grew up in the southern United States in his hometown of Bennetsville, South Carolina; though he was actually born in the town of Columbia. The single largest influence in his life has been the African-American comedian Chris Rock who he grew up admiring. In the year 2000, after graduating from high school, Ansari went to New York University ( "Stern School of Business" ) and studied marketing, graduating in 2004, amidst the worst outbreak of Islamophobia American Muslims have ever suffered. Despite this, he was well on his way to success, already performing to live audiences, which lead to a television deal in which he starred and presented on the "Human Giant" (2007—2009). By 2009 he received his big break, clinching one of the main roles in the television series "Parks and Recreation" (2009—2015). He later co-starred amongst Jewish actors Adam Sandler and Seth Rogen in "Funny People" (2009), with more significant roles following his way. [n. 2] By 2015 his career had moved into full swing, with a deal signed with Netflix that saw the creation of "Master of None" (2015), [n. 3] which went on to receive four Emmy award nominations, [n. 4] as well as a Golden Globe nomination. He also wrote his first book in 2015, called "Modern Romance" , for which he was paid $3.5 million dollars in advance.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story:— Perhaps the most significant role Ahmed has achieved is that of his role as Bodhi Rook in "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" (2016). The film, amazingly enough, does not have a single White actor starring in any of it's major roles, but does feature a lead White female protagonist. A Mexican actor, Diego Luna, portrays a Rebel captain called Cassian Andorby, [50] African-American Forest Whitaker portrays a Rebel leader named Saw Gerrera, [50] British Muslim actor Riz Ahmed's plays the charmingly awkward Imperial defector Bodhi Rook, [50] with Chinese actors Jiang Wen playing Baze Malbus and Donnie Yen as Chirrut Îmwe. [50] The films diversity was a deliberate one, and moves away from the "White Saviour" complex common to nearly all major Hollywood films. This did not go down well with the "snowflakes" of the alt-right; [50] a neo-nazi movement that has advocated promoting White privilege and culture above everything else, whether through violence or peaceful means. The irony was not lost on the films writers and indeed the film series as a whole, given that the villains are inspired by the Nazis when George Lucas first created his franchise. [50] Ahmed's role in 2016 marked a 10 year transition from where he was originally typecast as a stereotypical Muslim terrorist, which he has done well to avoid. [51] However he still faces institutionalised discrimination at airports where he is always "randomly" checked by airport security staff. [51] Ahmed still loves his heritage. [n. 1]

Riz Ahmed:— born on December 1st, 1983, [36] is a British Pakistani actor, [37] who first rose to prominence for his role in "The Road to Guantanamo" in 2006. [38] His next film saw him star in the critically acclaimed "Shifty" (2008). [39] Two years later and the actor began working with more established actors that included the likes of Judy Dench, "Fonejacker" Kavyan Novak, and Michael Fassbender. After several larger films, Ahmed starred in an smaller independent made film called "Ill Manors" (2012), [40] for which he was nominated as "Best Actor" at the "British Independent Film Awards" . [41] In 2013, Ahmed worked with "24"' s Kiefer Sutherland and Kate Hudson in "The Reluctant Fundamentalist" (2013), [42] a film that was widely seen as a box office—though not a critical—failure. He was given his second big break in Hollywood when he was given the role of "Rick" in the Oscar nominated "Nightcrawler" (2014). [43] He starred alongside Jake Gyllenhaal as one of the main characters. Ahmed was nominated for several prestigious awards after his convincing portrayal of a native Los Angeles resident. His upcoming films include "Jason Bourne" (2016), [44] and "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" (2016), [44] —which stars Forest Whitaker and Felicity Jones. [45] Ahmed also starred in "Una" (2016). [46] Outside of film he starred in Charlie Brooker's zombie-drama "Dead Set" (2008), [47] a fictional drama-series set around Channel 4's "Big Brother" reality television show, [48] and HBO's critically acclaimed drama series "The Night Of" (2016). [49]

Irrfan Khan:— is an actor notable for having starred in a series of successful cinematic films both in Indian and Western cinema. He was born in Jaipur, Rajasthan, India, on November 29th, 1962. [30] Khan's early career in India was marred by exploitation from Indian film producers; where he would often star in dramas and then find out too late that he wouldn't even be paid. [31] It was only through the actions of a fellow Muslim, Asif Kapadia, did his acting career take off, having been given a leading role in a major film. [31] As a result of his steller performance, he landed many different roles as a villain or law enforcement agent. [31] Khan went on to develop a personal net fortune of $50 million dollars as his acting career began to boom. His first Western cinematic role was in "A Mighty Heart" in 2007, [30] followed by "The Namesake" (2007), [30] "Partition" (2008), [30] "Slumdog Millionaire (2008)" , [30] "New York, I Love You" (2009), [30] "The Amazing Spider-Man" (2012), [30] "Life of Pi" (2012), [30] "Jurassic World" (2015), [30] and his latest film with Tom Hanks, "Inferno" (2016). [30] His most successful roles have been in Slumdog Millionaire [33] which grossed $379m worldwide, The Amazing Spider-Man [33] ($758m), Life of Pi [33] ($609m) and Jurassic World ($524m). [33] He has also appeared on the television series "In Treatment" between 2008 and 2010. [34] He is due to star in another big budget Hollywood film in 2017 called "The Wicked Path" . [35]

is an Academy award winning,female Muslim Persian actress that was born on May 11th, 1952.She has had a significant amount of roles in some of the most iconic and popular television series and films in recent American history. She has worked on films such as(2006) and(2016).In television she has had roles in(2005),(2006),(2007),(2008),, and(2011).Additionally she has voiced several different video games characters most notably in(2010),(2012),and(2014).Her most iconic role has been the portrayal of a hijabi Muslim character in theepisode. The episode was particularly special given that other religions had regularly been given airtime, with some being given far more screen time than would be expected, except Islam.Staff writers of the show were interviewed in 2000, as to why they hadn't written a show about Islam, with the writers explaining that they simply didn't know enough about the faith to include it, but did assure that the time would come when they would eventually include it.Eight years laterfeatured a dedicated episode to Muslims and Steve Jobs (who is of Muslim heritage on his father's side). The plot centred around Bart's friendship with a Muslim boy named Bashir.

is an established actor of Ismaili Koja Muslim heritage (the sect made famous for it's assassination order of the 12th century) on his father's side.He also has some minute Jewish heritage from his mother's father's side, though he firmly does not identify himself as Jewish. In an interview in 1994, he was stated to have saidHe received his big break when he starred in 1982's Hollywood biopic, for which he was nominated for several BAFTA's, Oscar's, and Golden Globes, as well as a whole host of other prestigious awards.He has played roles in films such as(1993),(2000),(2004),(2010),(2013),and(2016).Kingsley greatly values his Muslim heritage, and owns a golden turban, which belonged to his father, which he places next to the Oscar he had won in 1982.He hasn't neglected his Islamic culture either, having narratedin 2000, andin 2009.He has also participated in theandsci-historic and award-winning exhibition; a showcase of instruments and tools created by Islamic scientists during the Islamic Golden Age.Kingley stars in the introductory film for the exhibition.

Omar Sharif:— Omar Sharif was one of the most successful Arab Muslim actors in the history of Hollywood, and one of the earliest stars of the American film industry. [1] Born in April 1932, in the city of Alexandria, Egypt, he was raised in a Christian household. [2] Initially he worked for his family's lumber business, before leaving for London, and attending the "Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts" . [2] In 1954 he starred in his first major role in cinema in "The Blazing Sun" . [3] He converted to Islam and changed his name to Omar Sharif in 1955. [2] However it wasn't until 1962 that Sharif would receive his big break into Hollywood, when he was cast as "Lawrence of Arabia" . [2] [4] Soon after, he was then seen in 1965's hit film "Doctor Zhivago" . [2] [4] This film became the eighth highest grossing film ever in Hollywood, and marks the first time a Muslim actor had crossed the $1 billion dollar gross mark (adjusted for inflation)—with it grossing some $1,065,082,200 dollars in total from a total uninflated gross of $112 million dollars. [5] [6] By the end of his life, he starred in a total of 69 films up to 2015 when he official retired. He is credited with 117 acting roles throughout his career on IMDB alone; [7] and at least two of his films have scored a rare 100% perfect score on the review aggregator website, "Rotten Tomatoes" . [8] In 2015 he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease, and as a result died from an induced heart attack, caused by the condition. [2] In his last year of life he couldn't even remember when he filmed his most famous roles. [2]

Sharif was the first Muslim actor who's film grossed over $1 billion dollars.

Omar Sharif:— Omar Sharif was one of the most successful Arab Muslim actors in the history of Hollywood, and one of the earliest stars of the American film industry.[1] Born in April 1932, in the city of Alexandria, Egypt, he was raised in a Christian household.[2] Initially he worked for his family's lumber business, before leaving for London, and attending the "Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts".[2] In 1954 he starred in his first major role in cinema in "The Blazing Sun".[3] He converted to Islam and changed his name to Omar Sharif in 1955.[2] However it wasn't until 1962 that Sharif would receive his big break into Hollywood, when he was cast as "Lawrence of Arabia".[2][4] Soon after, he was then seen in 1965's hit film "Doctor Zhivago".[2][4] This film became the eighth highest grossing film ever in Hollywood, and marks the first time a Muslim actor had crossed the $1 billion dollar gross mark (adjusted for inflation)—with it grossing some $1,065,082,200 dollars in total from a total uninflated gross of $112 million dollars.[5][6] By the end of his life, he starred in a total of 69 films up to 2015 when he official retired. He is credited with 117 acting roles throughout his career on IMDB alone;[7] and at least two of his films have scored a rare 100% perfect score on the review aggregator website, "Rotten Tomatoes".[8] In 2015 he was diagnosed with Alzheimer's Disease, and as a result died from an induced heart attack, caused by the condition.[2] In his last year of life he couldn't even remember when he filmed his most famous roles.[2]

Kingsley playing a character in "Schindler's List" (1993).

Ben Kingsley:— is an established actor of Ismaili Koja Muslim heritage (the sect made famous for it's assassination order of the 12th century) on his father's side.[9] He also has some minute Jewish heritage from his mother's father's side, though he firmly does not identify himself as Jewish. In an interview in 1994, he was stated to have said "I'm not Jewish...and though there might be some Russian-Jewish heritage way back on my mother's side, the thread is so fine there's no real evidence. But my Jewishness, or lack of it, is academic. I do not forget for myself, or the Jewish people".[10] He received his big break when he starred in 1982's Hollywood biopic"Gandhi", for which he was nominated for several BAFTA's, Oscar's, and Golden Globes, as well as a whole host of other prestigious awards.[11] He has played roles in films such as "Schindler's List" (1993),[12] "Sexy Beast" (2000),[13] "Thunderbirds" (2004),[14] "Shutter Island" (2010),[15] "Iron Man 3" (2013),[16] and "The Jungle Book" (2016).[17] Kingsley greatly values his Muslim heritage, and owns a golden turban, which belonged to his father, which he places next to the Oscar he had won in 1982.[9] He hasn't neglected his Islamic culture either, having narrated "Islam: Empire of Faith" in 2000, and "Journey to Mecca" in 2009.[18][19] He has also participated in the "National Geographic" and "The Foundation For Science and Learning's" sci-historic and award-winning exhibition "1001 Inventions"; a showcase of instruments and tools created by Islamic scientists during the Islamic Golden Age.[20] Kingley stars in the introductory film for the exhibition.[21] is an established actor of Ismaili Koja Muslim heritage (the sect made famous for it's assassination order of the 12th century) on his father's side.He also has some minute Jewish heritage from his mother's father's side, though he firmly does not identify himself as Jewish. In an interview in 1994, he was stated to have saidHe received his big break when he starred in 1982's Hollywood biopic, for which he was nominated for several BAFTA's, Oscar's, and Golden Globes, as well as a whole host of other prestigious awards.He has played roles in films such as(1993),(2000),(2004),(2010),(2013),and(2016).Kingsley greatly values his Muslim heritage, and owns a golden turban, which belonged to his father, which he places next to the Oscar he had won in 1982.He hasn't neglected his Islamic culture either, having narratedin 2000, andin 2009.He has also participated in theandsci-historic and award-winning exhibition; a showcase of instruments and tools created by Islamic scientists during the Islamic Golden Age.Kingley stars in the introductory film for the exhibition.

The Simpsons breaking bread with a Muslim family.

Shohreh Aghdashloo:— is an Academy award winning,[22] female Muslim Persian actress that was born on May 11th, 1952.[23] She has had a significant amount of roles in some of the most iconic and popular television series and films in recent American history. She has worked on films such as "X-Men: The Last Stand" (2006) and "Star Trek Beyond" (2016).[24] In television she has had roles in "24" (2005), "Will & Grace", "ER" (2006), "Grey's Anatomy" (2007), "House of Saddam", "The Simpsons" (2008), "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit", "NCIS", and "House M.D." (2011).[24] Additionally she has voiced several different video games characters most notably in "Mass Effect 2" (2010),[25][26] "Mass Effect 3" (2012),[26] and "Destiny" (2014).[27] Her most iconic role has been the portrayal of a hijabi Muslim character in the "The Simpsons" episode "Mypods and Boomsticks". The episode was particularly special given that other religions had regularly been given airtime, with some being given far more screen time than would be expected, except Islam.[28] Staff writers of the show were interviewed in 2000, as to why they hadn't written a show about Islam, with the writers explaining that they simply didn't know enough about the faith to include it, but did assure that the time would come when they would eventually include it.[28] Eight years later "The Simpsons" featured a dedicated episode to Muslims and Steve Jobs (who is of Muslim heritage on his father's side). The plot centred around Bart's friendship with a Muslim boy named Bashir.[29] is an Academy award winning,female Muslim Persian actress that was born on May 11th, 1952.She has had a significant amount of roles in some of the most iconic and popular television series and films in recent American history. She has worked on films such as(2006) and(2016).In television she has had roles in(2005),(2006),(2007),(2008),, and(2011).Additionally she has voiced several different video games characters most notably in(2010),(2012),and(2014).Her most iconic role has been the portrayal of a hijabi Muslim character in theepisode. The episode was particularly special given that other religions had regularly been given airtime, with some being given far more screen time than would be expected, except Islam.Staff writers of the show were interviewed in 2000, as to why they hadn't written a show about Islam, with the writers explaining that they simply didn't know enough about the faith to include it, but did assure that the time would come when they would eventually include it.Eight years laterfeatured a dedicated episode to Muslims and Steve Jobs (who is of Muslim heritage on his father's side). The plot centred around Bart's friendship with a Muslim boy named Bashir.

Irrfan Khan has played a villain in most of his films, except in Hollywood.

Irrfan Khan:— is an actor notable for having starred in a series of successful cinematic films both in Indian and Western cinema. He was born in Jaipur, Rajasthan, India, on November 29th, 1962.[30] Khan's early career in India was marred by exploitation from Indian film producers; where he would often star in dramas and then find out too late that he wouldn't even be paid.[31] It was only through the actions of a fellow Muslim, Asif Kapadia, did his acting career take off, having been given a leading role in a major film.[31] As a result of his steller performance, he landed many different roles as a villain or law enforcement agent.[31] Khan went on to develop a personal net fortune of $50 million dollars as his acting career began to boom. His first Western cinematic role was in "A Mighty Heart" in 2007,[30] followed by "The Namesake" (2007),[30] "Partition" (2008),[30] "Slumdog Millionaire (2008)",[30] "New York, I Love You" (2009),[30] "The Amazing Spider-Man" (2012),[30] "Life of Pi" (2012),[30] "Jurassic World" (2015),[30] and his latest film with Tom Hanks, "Inferno" (2016).[30] His most successful roles have been in Slumdog Millionaire[33] which grossed $379m worldwide, The Amazing Spider-Man[33] ($758m), Life of Pi[33] ($609m) and Jurassic World ($524m).[33] He has also appeared on the television series "In Treatment" between 2008 and 2010.[34] He is due to star in another big budget Hollywood film in 2017 called "The Wicked Path".[35]

Ahmed with Gyllenhaal.

Riz Ahmed:— born on December 1st, 1983,[36] is a British Pakistani actor,[37] who first rose to prominence for his role in "The Road to Guantanamo" in 2006.[38] His next film saw him star in the critically acclaimed "Shifty" (2008).[39] Two years later and the actor began working with more established actors that included the likes of Judy Dench, "Fonejacker" Kavyan Novak, and Michael Fassbender. After several larger films, Ahmed starred in an smaller independent made film called "Ill Manors" (2012),[40] for which he was nominated as "Best Actor" at the "British Independent Film Awards".[41] In 2013, Ahmed worked with "24"'s Kiefer Sutherland and Kate Hudson in "The Reluctant Fundamentalist" (2013),[42] a film that was widely seen as a box office—though not a critical—failure. He was given his second big break in Hollywood when he was given the role of "Rick" in the Oscar nominated "Nightcrawler" (2014).[43] He starred alongside Jake Gyllenhaal as one of the main characters. Ahmed was nominated for several prestigious awards after his convincing portrayal of a native Los Angeles resident. His upcoming films include "Jason Bourne" (2016),[44] and "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" (2016),[44]—which stars Forest Whitaker and Felicity Jones.[45] Ahmed also starred in "Una" (2016).[46] Outside of film he starred in Charlie Brooker's zombie-drama "Dead Set" (2008),[47] a fictional drama-series set around Channel 4's "Big Brother" reality television show,[48] and HBO's critically acclaimed drama series "The Night Of" (2016).[49]

The main characters of "Rogue One", stars Muslim actor Riz Ahmed.

Rogue One: A Star Wars Story:— Perhaps the most significant role Ahmed has achieved is that of his role as Bodhi Rook in "Rogue One: A Star Wars Story" (2016). The film, amazingly enough, does not have a single White actor starring in any of it's major roles, but does feature a lead White female protagonist. A Mexican actor, Diego Luna, portrays a Rebel captain called Cassian Andorby,[50] African-American Forest Whitaker portrays a Rebel leader named Saw Gerrera,[50] British Muslim actor Riz Ahmed's plays the charmingly awkward Imperial defector Bodhi Rook,[50] with Chinese actors Jiang Wen playing Baze Malbus and Donnie Yen as Chirrut Îmwe.[50] The films diversity was a deliberate one, and moves away from the "White Saviour" complex common to nearly all major Hollywood films. This did not go down well with the "snowflakes" of the alt-right;[50] a neo-nazi movement that has advocated promoting White privilege and culture above everything else, whether through violence or peaceful means. The irony was not lost on the films writers and indeed the film series as a whole, given that the villains are inspired by the Nazis when George Lucas first created his franchise.[50] Ahmed's role in 2016 marked a 10 year transition from where he was originally typecast as a stereotypical Muslim terrorist, which he has done well to avoid.[51] However he still faces institutionalised discrimination at airports where he is always "randomly" checked by airport security staff.[51] Ahmed still loves his heritage.[n. 6]

Ansari with his real-life parents on the set of "Master of None" (2015), acting in episode 2, "Parents".

Aziz Ansari—: was born on February 23rd, 1983, who's ancestry can be traced back to his native India, from which his parents had fled from. He grew up in the southern United States in his hometown of Bennetsville, South Carolina; though he was actually born in the town of Columbia. The single largest influence in his life has been the African-American comedian Chris Rock who he grew up admiring. In the year 2000, after graduating from high school, Ansari went to New York University ("Stern School of Business") and studied marketing, graduating in 2004, amidst the worst outbreak of Islamophobia American Muslims have ever suffered. Despite this, he was well on his way to success, already performing to live audiences, which lead to a television deal in which he starred and presented on the "Human Giant" (2007—2009). By 2009 he received his big break, clinching one of the main roles in the television series "Parks and Recreation" (2009—2015). He later co-starred amongst Jewish actors Adam Sandler and Seth Rogen in "Funny People" (2009), with more significant roles following his way.[n. 7] By 2015 his career had moved into full swing, with a deal signed with Netflix that saw the creation of "Master of None" (2015),[n. 8] which went on to receive four Emmy award nominations,[n. 9] as well as a Golden Globe nomination. He also wrote his first book in 2015, called "Modern Romance", for which he was paid $3.5 million dollars in advance.

Production Companies

Red Granite Pictures (f. Riza Aziz, a Malaysian Muslim). His films have grossed just under $1 billion dollars total.

Red Granite Pictures:— is a production company that has worked with some of the biggest actors in Hollywood. The company produced their very first film in 2011, "Friends with Kids" (2011),[53] that starred Megan Fox. The was barely a success, only grossing $12 million dollars from an approximate $10 million dollar budget. Their next film, "Out of the Furnace" came out in 2013,[54] and was a total failure, despite Christian Bale working on the film. It only grossed $15.6 million dollars out of an approximate $22 million dollar budget.[55] This however did not stop the studio from persevering. Their third film, the "Wolf of Wall Street" (2013) was a box office success and was also met with critical acclaim, being nominated for several Academy Awards and grossed $392 million dollars out of a $100 million dollar budget.[56] It's leading role was performed by Leonardio di Caprio, and was directed by Martin Scorsese.[56] The studio also experimented with a smaller film with Daniel Radcliffe, which bombed at the box office, grossing only approximately $3 million dollars. However, this was more than made up for in the release of "Dumb and Dumber To" (2014), and "Daddy's Home" (2015),[57] which grossed $170 million dollars[58] and $240 million dollars respectively, on a combined budget of $90 million dollars. At least $372 million generated from their films have been taken from US ticket sales alone, whereas globally they have taken $834 million dollars from all six of their films.[59]

Racism

[n. 10] Hollywood regularly demonizes Muslims, especially those of Arab descent.