Riz Ahmed’s Spirit award could lead him towards an Oscar win on Sunday

Hollywood star Riz Ahmed is at the top of his game currently as his film Sound of Metal leads him towards several top accolades this awards season.

The Reluctant Fundamentalist actor, 38, after bagging the 2021 Film Independent Spirit Award for best male lead for Sound of Metal, thanked his wife novelist Fatima Farheen Mirza.

Giving his winning speech, he said: "Thank you to the Spirit Awards for this incredible honor. I share this with a lot of people, most of all [director] Darius Marder. I love you man, you're crazy. Thank you for your daring and your genius,” he said.

The Venom star also thanked his wife Fatima, and said: “This is all for you."

"Sound of Metal is about how a health crisis can throw your life off track. I wish you peace on the other side of it,” he said.

His recent win has escalated talk around his Oscar nomination with many critics predicting that Ahmed could pull an upset and snag away the best actor prize at the Academy Awards on Sunday.

Ahmed's main competition is late actor Chadwick Boseman who is nominated for the same award for his final performance in the film Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom.