Riz Ahmed reflects on receiving priceless watch during broke movie days

When Riz Ahmed was striving to support himself as an actor in the late 2000s, he was gifted a watch that has retained significant importance to him over the years.

"My dream of 'making it' was much simpler," Ahmed, 43, reveals to PEOPLE in light of his new film adaptation of Hamlet and his Prime Video series Bait. 

In the series, Ahmed portrays a budding British actor eager to elevate his career.

"It was really about covering rent," he recalls about his experience with Shifty at age 27, marking a notable turning point in his life.

"I've got a peculiar story to share. I was given a watch at a film festival—I believe it was in Zurich or something," the actor recalls. "I didn't attend. They shipped it to me. The value of the watch surpassed my pay for the film. My compensation was £1,000, but the watch was valued at £2,000. It was a relief, thinking, 'I have this safety net. If things ever go south, I can sell the watch.' That was the first time I truly relaxed a bit."

One of Ahmed's first notable roles occurred in 2008 with the crime drama Shifty, where he portrayed a drug dealer in London. 

It marked one of his first leading roles. In the 2010s, he gained recognition in the US with films like Nightcrawler and Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, yet he mentions to PEOPLE that he kept the watch stored until recently as a financial safety net.

"To be candid, I only wore the watch for the first time last year," he confesses. "A part of me stayed cautious, thinking 'Life's uncertain.' This might indicate I've never truly felt like 'I've made it.' For me, 'making it' implies the ability to unwind and relax, but there’s always a project I haven’t completed yet."

Ahmed won an Academy Award in 2022 for his role in the live-action short film The Long Goodbye, which complements his 2020 studio album of the same title.

Despite his current success in film and television, he explains how his experience with the watch was woven into Bait. 

In the series, his character, who is an aspiring actor, considers selling a similarly acquired watch by the end of the first episode.

"That scene is a direct reflection of my own life," Ahmed shares with PEOPLE.

Ahmed's version of Hamlet hits theaters on Friday (April 10). Meanwhile, Bait is available for streaming on Prime Video.