British actor Riz Ahmed has said he ate so well during the shoot in Penang that his costumes had to be refitted, and that he has no regrets about any of it, Malay Mail reported.
The Emmy-winning actor, 43, made the admission on the Dish from Waitrose podcast, hosted by broadcaster Nick Grimshaw and Michelin-starred chef Angela Hartnett.
Grimshaw asked whether he was a big fan of Malaysian food. Ahmed said the cuisine works because it pulls several traditions into one plate.
“What I like about Malaysian food is, it’s Indonesian food, Indian food, obviously its own kind of Malay flavours and Chinese food, all kind of thrown together. So you get this amazing mix of stuff,” he said. “Obviously they do the rotis, they do rotis with rendang, with not nasi goreng, but with a twist.”
The weight gain showed up in the wardrobe. “I gotta tell you, I put on so much weight there they had to refit my costume… Literally they had to redo my trousers, they had to do the whole thing,” he said.
The Malaysian leg of the production was not a brief stop, according to The Star. Penang Island City Council granted a filming permit from 1 to 31 July, and state tourism and creative economy committee chairman Wong Hon Wai said the early scenes were shot at Jawi Peranakan Mansion, Cheong Fatt Tze, the Blue Mansion, Lorong Ikan and Penang City Stadium, with Batu Kawan stadium to follow. The city council said it approved six local and international productions this year. Communications Minister Datuk Seri Fahmi Fadzil and National Film Development Corporation Malaysia chairman Datuk Hans Isaac also visited the set.
Wong said a production of that scale brings exposure to Penang through one of the world’s largest streaming platforms. Clips of the shoot circulated widely on social media, including footage of Wahlberg walking through a bazaar and arriving at a shop.
The Big Fix is a crime thriller starring Mark Wahlberg and directed by Baltasar Kormákur. Inspired by a true story, it follows a former Interpol officer who uncovers an international football match-fixing operation. The cast includes US-based Malaysian actress Nuha Jes Izman, Singaporean actor Chin Han and Indian actor Vipin Sharma.
Ahmed, a British-Pakistani actor and rapper, won an Emmy for his role in The Night Of and an Oscar nomination for Sound of Metal. Dish from Waitrose has been running since 2022 and has featured guests including Gordon Ramsay, Dua Lipa and Benedict Cumberbatch, pairing them with food conversations and a cooking segment.
