British-Pakistani star Riz Ahmed, the first Muslim actor to win the Lead Actor nomination at the 93rd Academy Awards for his performance in Sound of Metal, shared with his followers how his cousins responded to the nomination. “My cousin Adnan legit didn’t know what the Oscars were,” said Riz. “Why all the gas? I won the best client engagement award for the financial quarter,” his cousin remarked. “Other cousin steps in, ‘Na, it’s not as big as that, he didn’t win anything,'” Riz quoted his cousin, who thought the actor’s Oscar nomination was like “getting an email from the boss”. Riz played Ruben Stone in Sound of Metal, a drummer who loses his hearing. He trained extensively for the role, learning the American Sign Language and drumming. He attended drug recovery sessions as well. He is the first Muslim as well as Asian to win an Emmy for The Night of in 2017. Riz has become the second actor of Asian descent alongside Minari’s Steven Yeun to win Academy nominations for lead actor in the same year. Sound of Metal was nominated for the Golden Globe, SAG, BAFTA and Spirit Awards. The 93rd Academy Awards will take place on April 25, 2021.