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Actor, musician, scriptwriter – Faraz M. Khan aka ‘Fizzy Caramel’ is making a name for himself in one of the most uncertain, constantly changing sectors. August 2021 saw the arrival of a new character in the long-running TV series, EastEnders. Played by Faraz, the character of Waseem Qureshi is dropped into a rather sticky storyline concerning the opening of a new Mosque in the fictional borough of Walford. It was a performance that marked a significant stage in Faraz’s career – one which he had never originally anticipated while traversing through some other very different career paths. “My life is just one big uncharted route,” he explains.
As a young man growing up in a Pakistani family in London’s East End, stability and academic results mattered. “My family wanted me to study medicine or dentistry. I eventually ended up at University College London and studied pharmacy – in the end, I got straight A’s for my A-Levels which was enough to get onto one of these career paths but I was a bit of a class clown in college so my teachers’ grade predictions kind of shut the door on getting a place in dental school” he recalls. Admittedly there was also a time when he thought he might be a boxer, having reached a respectable standard as an amateur with the 2012 London Olympics in mind – but those plans came to a halt when he moved to Hong Kong as part of his university studies. Upon graduating and completing his Masters’s year he went on to work as a trainee Pharmacist but quickly became bored with the monotonous nature of the role.
“I love helping people but I knew I had to get out of pharmacy. I was like okay I have a very particular skill set, but the world has become quite a fluid place so where else can I apply these skills of mine? I then joined a graduate scheme with one of the Big Four accounting/consultancy firms as a finance & technology consultant. It was great for a while, travelling for work, always looking fresh in nicely tailored suits, boujee client dinners, and so forth but I quickly realised that all this was not something I was too passionate about – none of it sent a tingle down my spine. Deep down I always knew I was creative, I’ve always loved to sing and as a kid, I really enjoyed making silly videos but my parents always regarded studying and academia as more important. Roll on a year or so into my time in the corporate world and I was away travelling South East Asia with a couple of my closest friends. While there I recall one night in Bangkok, we were at the Lebua Tower Skybar, the same one where they filmed the second Hangover movie, and my best friend T who knows me like the back of his hand said to me, ‘Hey man I can see something’s bothering you and you seem a bit lost. All I’m going to say is when we get back to London, you do whatever it is you need to do and just go for it,’ recalled Faraz.
Not knowing quite where to start Faraz signed up to a few ‘random’ casting websites and platforms to see what might happen.
“I got a call one day while at work from an agent who said she liked my look but based on my lack of experience wasn’t able to immediately sign me and instead offered me a place on an acting course for those starting their career. At first, I didn’t know what I was signing up for but it was the best decision I ever made. It kickstarted this vision of being able to do what I love as a career. On the first day, I went in and we were given scripts to perform while pairing up with other budding actors and I knew there and then that this is what I’ve been put on this earth to do. I felt it immediately filling up this void or feeling of emptiness that I’d been carrying with me the last few years. Things started to get difficult to manage though – I was working in Canary Wharf at the time and in a demanding job where I had no ‘spare time’ so I ended up living 2 simultaneous lives which consisted of a fast-paced corporate career and that of an actor attending classes, workshops, auditions and having to manage filming opportunities which always seem to pop up at very short notice, which always involved some rather ridiculous excuses. I spent some time at the Identity School of Acting and would have to go twice a week during working hours. I’m not going to get into how I made it work because it might land me in trouble but looking back, I genuinely have no idea how I did it. I guess it just comes down to how bad you want it – you somehow always find a way and make it happen. Eventually, I started racking up some credits, landed an acting agent, then another agent who I’m currently with who’s awesome and I started getting busy with some nice acting jobs, learning along the way doing short films, etc,” Faraz said.
Ultimately Faraz knew he was eventually going to hand in his notice, to focus on the acting and music on a full-time basis.
However as luck would have it, he ended up leaving a couple of months before the onset of the pandemic. As a result, the majority of acting and filming opportunities ceased and Faraz admits that it was a nerve-wracking time, knowing he had no regular salary coming in. Nor had he told his family that he had left his job because he knew that it would worry them – “I just did not have it in me to tell them because I knew how they would react and what they’d say. There were some days where I’d put on a suit and just leave the house and go sit at a coffee shop with my laptop, applying to castings and working on my scripts, so that my parents didn’t suspect anything”.
Despite the majority of the world in lockdown and working from home or being furloughed, Faraz did what he needed to do to keep himself going. “I went back to working as a pharmacist picking up Locum work wherever I could. I’m still registered to practice and work whenever needed if I’m not filming,” Faraz says. Such shifts are very much a side hustle since his main focus is his work as a full-time musician and actor.
It has taken time for his family to come to terms with his new career as he explains. Much of the difficulty has been due to cultural differences. “ They were proud of me getting a degree and it was hard for them to understand why I was not happy as a pharmacist with a respectable job and stable income. They didn’t understand about careers in finance, technology, or why I wanted something different. Its a completely different mindset which is a result of the experiences they’ve had to go through – for example when shifting over to the UK with the hope of giving their kids the chance of a life with more opportunities than they had, having a stable career was what they regarded as important. My dad lost his dad at the age of 13 and had to grow up very fast to help support his mum and 4 younger siblings, so having something stable was a must. As a result, my parents are very risk-averse but for sure I understand why this is the case.
Faraz continues, “I like to take risks, life is too short not to. When I started acting, they thought it was just a hobby and I was just having fun, which I was, but it was only when they started seeing me in things that they began to realise how serious I was about it all. Aladdin was out in the cinema and I have a brief appearance in it, so I took my mum to the cinema to watch it and I could see her smiling when I came on screen – and while Aladdin was still showing in theatres there was also a Sky Sports commercial I did for the Cricket World Cup where I’m wearing a Pakistan shirt and I have a couple of lines. I think for my dad being the huge cricket fan he is, the only thing that would have made him prouder would have been playing for the national team itself,” he jokes.
“My parents still worry though, but I tell them you have to believe. I love it all. Only this morning, out of the blue my agent called me to audition for an incredible opportunity – I am embracing the uncertainty and taking each day as it comes.”
His faith is helping sustain him through the uncertainties of his new career.
“I believe in God and keep him close to me. I pray every day and try to pick up the Qur’an and read for at least 10 minutes whenever I can. My faith is a very important part of me, and if for whatever reason I go a few moments without praying I start to feel a disconnect. At the same time, however, I do go out and party with my friends – I enjoy my life in every way I can while always carrying with me the core values of Islam. I am very happy and content with the balance I live with.”
“Collectively all of these dramatic changes in my life are shaping my performances as a creative. Growing up in East London wasn’t easy at times. I went to the same school as Kano and if you listen to his lyrics you can get an idea of what it was like growing up in the East – it’s all of these life experiences that we as artists reflect upon when performing and creating. This is the beauty of what we do. Each individual carries with them their own story which shapes the art they put out into the world.”
“BBC’s EastEnders marked my TV debut. I’ve filmed several episodes which have been exciting since the show is an iconic part of British culture. I’ve enjoyed being allowed to let loose and cause some trouble in Walford – let’s see what they do next with the character.”
For Faraz, every day is an opportunity to learn, gain new experiences, and develop his skills. He is, quite simply, learning on the job. “I never went to drama school so I take every opportunity to learn. I watch how things are done on set, by observing how more established actors collaborate with directors, and what processes they bring to the mix. It is like being back at school for me, constantly learning and soaking it all in like a sponge. When I was on Aladdin, I was only there briefly but watching Will Smith perform firsthand is an experience I’ll never forget.”
“Behind the scenes, I am always doing my best to constantly develop and progress my craft. I do this through attending various workshops and classes such as Mixing Networks, which I attend every week – it’s like going to the gym for actors. Every day I’m working on something, whether that’s learning an accent or developing a new skill.”
His alter ego as the musician ‘Fizzy Caramel’ came about by accident as he recalls. “It’s a bit of a dumb story, to be honest, I was dating a girl, who was obsessed with caramel as she consumed it daily. I jokingly dared her to put ‘caramel’ somewhere in her Instagram handle and she was like I’ll do it if you do it. My friends call me to fizzle so I just linked it with caramel and my Instagram handle became Fizzy Caramel. I stopped seeing this girl and she subsequently changed her Instagram handle back to whatever it was but I kept mine. I don’t know why I just liked the sound of it. I was then in the studio with the super talented producer Mo Khan who suggested I use it as my artist name when releasing music. I mean I did think it was a bit cringe but then I thought its an inside joke and I love it because no one knows what a Fizzy Caramel is! If you google it I think it’s some kind of vegan dessert. As a musician though I’m still discovering my style, sometimes singing, sometimes rapping and changing up the flow.”
And what of the future? Unpredictable and varied are perhaps the best way to describe his plans. “I’ve just filmed something for a huge studio film opposite Lily James. She was amazing to work with, I love her. I’m now working on a Sky TV show called ‘Bloods’, a comedy created by Samson Kayo and I’m having an absolute blast filming it. I’m also working on some new music and am looking forward to my next release ‘Loca’ which is out on the 19th November and is being released by Kobalt Music Group which for me is a milestone I am very proud of.” Faraz is also expanding into scriptwriting and production commenting, “I am writing some films and will be shooting one in the first quarter of 2022. We are just refining the script and getting together a solid team behind us.”
Read the full interview in our next issue of British Muslim Magazine!
To advertise with British Muslim magazine, our website and email newsletters, email Robyn
Having problems with your subscription?
Email:
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To contact the editor email
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To advertise with British Muslim magazine, our website and email newsletters, email Robyn
Having problems with your subscription?
Email:
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To contact the editor email
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