Four Lions star says he was asked about terrorism by airport security

Actor Adeel Akhtar says he was asked if he was linked to terrorist organisations by airport security when he travelled with his girlfriend to an audition in New York.

The Four Lions star told BBC Radio 4’s Desert Island Discs he had his passport taken off him and was questioned for hours at John F Kennedy International Airport in 2002.

Akhtar said: “Just before I got on the plane, some security people took my passport off me and said that I’d get it back once I arrived at JFK.

“Once we landed at JFK, the plane sort of taxied off into a sort of secluded part on the runway, and then I see this convoy of cars coming through.

“These fellas come onto the plane, and they said that they were going to handcuff me, but for their own protection, and then took me into the airport and then questioned me – and that was the sort of scary bit, because that went on a bit longer than it felt comfortable…

“I mean, talking four or five hours of, not solid questioning, but a lot of waiting…

“(They were asking) if I had any sort of affiliations to terrorist organisations, and whether I was a practicing Muslim or not, and this is during the time of sort of Guantanamo and things like that.

“So I was aware of what they were trying to get at, and yeah, just sort of held my nerve and just answered the questions as honestly as I could, and then got out of there.”

Akhtar said he was “shocked” by what had happened, but said he “carried on with the audition”.

He went on to explain that his father had unsuccessfully attempted to sue the FBI following the incident.

Akhtar added: “My dad has a sort of blind faith in the idea of doing good and the rule of law, and I saw him in an office … and … I just saw this really proud man not believe in what he believed in for years and years and years.

“His expression of love was to protect me and do the right thing, and he was unable to sort of do either, and so if you can’t love your kid in the way that you should be able to, then it makes you kind of emotionally withdrawn a little bit, and I just saw him slightly beaten at that point.”

Along with his role as Faisal in Four Lions (2010), Akhtar also starred in BBC television film Murdered By My Father and crime drama Sherwood, winning Bafta awards for his performances.

Published: 18/01/2026 by Radio NewsHub