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Star Wars Actor: Put Muslims on TV or They Will Join ISIS

Star Wars actor Riz Ahmed gave some advice on how to fight the terror group ISIS.

During a Thursday speech to Channel 4's annual diversity lecture in Parliament, Ahmed urged television producers to embrace diversity and have more Muslim representation, or young people will feel alienated and will be more vulnerable to joining extremist groups.

"If we fail to represent, we are in danger of losing people to extremism," Ahmed said.

"In the mind of the Isis recruit, he’s the next James Bond right? Have you seen some of those Isis propaganda videos, they are cut like action movies," he continued. "Where is the counter narrative? Where are we telling these kids they can be heroes in our stories, that they valued?"

Ahmed recently starred in Rouge One: A Star Wars Story as the defected imperial pilot Bodhi Rook. He has appeared on HBO's "The Night Of" and "Girls."

The actor took the opportunity to focus his criticism at the British television industry. He told the audience if he wanted to work, he would have to go across the ocean to the United States.

"It takes American remakes of British shows to cast someone like me," Ahmed said. "We end up going to America to find work. I meet with producers and directors here and they say 'we don’t have anything for you, all our stories are set in Cornwall in the 1600s.'"

Ahmed suggested that the government should take action to help solve the problem of diversity in British television. He suggest that the government withhold funds until there is minority representation.