Ahmad Khan Mahmoodzada (born 23 December 1997) is an Afghan former

child actor The term child actor or child actress is generally applied to a child acting on stage or in film, movies or television. An adult who began their acting career as a child may also be called a child actor, or a "former child actor". Closely associ ...

. He played the role of Hassan, the loyal friend and servant of the richer boy Amir, in the film ''

The Kite Runner ''The Kite Runner'' is the first novel by Afghan-American author Khaled Hosseini. Published in 2003 by Riverhead Books, it tells the story of Amir, a young boy from the Wazir Akbar Khan, Kabul, Wazir Akbar Khan district of Kabul. The story is se ...

'' (2007). In one scene, Hassan is attacked and it is suggested that he is raped. The filmmakers wanted Ahmad to take off his pants for the shooting, but his father refused to let him do that. Mahmoodzada said that he would never have taken the role had he known Hassan would be raped. Reports vary on whether he and his family were properly informed in advance. 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 In filmmaking, a double is a person who substitutes FOR another actor such that the person's face is not shown. There are various terms associated with a double based on the specific body part or ability they serve as a double for, such as stunt ...

was used to show the boy's pants being tugged slightly down. Because of cultural misunderstandings, there has been concern about the safety of him and the other two main boy actors. Therefore,

Paramount Pictures Paramount Pictures Corporation is an American film and television production company, production and Distribution (marketing), distribution company and the main namesake division of Paramount Global (formerly ViacomCBS). It is the fifth-oldes ...

relocated them and their relatives to the

United Arab Emirates The United Arab Emirates (UAE; ar, اَلْإِمَارَات الْعَرَبِيَة الْمُتَحِدَة ), or simply the Emirates ( ar, الِْإمَارَات ), is a country in Western Asia (The Middle East). It is located at th ...

. After three years in the UAE, Mahmoodzada and his family had to move back to Afghanistan. People there were very negative towards him starring in the film and he received death threats. In 2011, he fled to Sweden and is now living in

Borlänge Borlänge is a locality in Dalarna County, Sweden with 44,898 inhabitants as of 2020. It is the seat of the Borlänge Municipality with a total population of 51,604 inhabitants as of 2017. History Originally Borlänge was the name of a tin ...

where he is studying Swedish and intends to return to acting. He hosted a 90-minute episode of a long running summer radio show on Sweden's Public Radio on 1 July 2016, in which he tells his story.

Sources

* * * * * *''The

Evening Standard The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format. In October 2009, after be ...

'' (London)
December 27, 2007
Accessed 8 January 2008.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mahmoodzada, Ahmad Khan Living people Afghan male child actors Hazara artists Afghan expatriates in the United Arab Emirates People from Kabul 21st-century Afghan male actors 1997 births