Ahmad Khan Mahmidzada
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| Ahmad Khan Mahmidzada | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1995 Kabul, Afghanistan |
Ahmad Khan Mahmidzada (born 1995), an ethnic Hazara, is a child actor from Afghanistan. He plays the role of Hassan, the loyal friend and servant of the richer boy Amir, in the movie The Kite Runner.
For this role he won the Critics' Choice Award for best young actor of 2007.
In one scene Hassan is attacked and it is suggested that he is raped. The filmmakers wanted Ahmed to take off his pants for the shooting, but his father refused to let him do that. The boy has said he would never have taken the role had he known Hassan is raped. Reports vary on whether he and his family were properly informed in advance.[1] The scene has now been depicted in a less harrowing manner than originally planned, and there is no nudity in it. Nevertheless a body double was used to show the boy's pants being tugged slightly down.[2]
Because of cultural misunderstandings there has been concern about the safety of him and the other two main boy actors. Therefore Paramount Pictures relocated them and their relatives to the United Arab Emirates.[3]
[edit] Sources
- Official site of the film The Kite Runner
- Dean Nelson, "Kabul kite boys feel Hollywood backlash", The Sunday Times, January 14, 2007. Accessed 8 January 2008.
- David M. Halbfinger, "‘Kite Runner’ Boys Are Sent to United Arab Emirates", New York Times, December 3, 2007. Accessed 8 January 2008.
- Herald Sun (Melbourne) December 06, 2007. Accessed 8 January 2008.
- Jay Stone, "Child actors' performances keep The Kite Runner aloft", The Vancouver Sun, December 21, 2007. Accessed 8 January 2008.
- The Evening Standard (London), December 27, 2007. Accessed 8 January 2008.
