15 celebrities who got political in 2017
LOS ANGELES, CA – SEPTEMBER 17: Actor Riz Ahmed, winner of Outstanding Lead Actor in a Limited Series or Movie for ‘The Night of’, poses in the press room during the 69th Annual Primetime Emmy Awards at Microsoft Theater on September 17, 2017 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images)
Riz Ahmed
With his role as Bodhi Rook in Rogue One and Emmy-award winning performance in HBO miniseries The Night Of (and a place on The Hamilton Mixtape ), 2016 made Riz Ahmed a household name.
But 2017 was all about what he would do with the fame that year gave him, and his to-do list was long. The British-Pakistani actor successfully raised hundreds of thousands of pounds for Syrian refugees, called out media’s portrayal of Muslims in the news and delivered a speech to Parliament on the importance of diversity in media.
Post-Charlottesville, Ahmed performed a powerful spoken-word rendition of his song “Sour Times” on The Tonight Show starring Jimmy Fallon, providing a rare, compassionate take on the circumstances that push young men into extremism. His efforts as an entertainer and activist landed him earned him a spot on the TIME 100 Most Influential People list.
ATLANTA, GA – NOVEMBER 29: Actor Chris Evans speaks onstage at ‘Wind River’ special screening at SCADShow on November 29, 2017 in Atlanta, Georgia. (Photo by Paras Griffin/Getty Images for WIND RIVER)
Chris Evans
Chris Evan’s advisers have allegedly spent the better part of 2017 begging him to shut up about politics. But the actor who brings Captain America to life has happily ignored their advice and in the process, become something of a superhero himself.
Evans has commented on the front lines of nearly every major political news story this year, informing his followers and driving discussions on everything from net neutrality to the immigration ban. Most famously, he made headlines in February for sparring with white supremacist and former Ku Klux Klan imperial wizard David Duke on Twitter after Jeff Sessions’ confirmation.
As a man whose face is probably inside half of America’s toy boxes, he is a role model to the next generation of leaders and citizens, and he’s not shying away from the responsibility — even if it loses him ticket sales.