LONDON, May 25 -- Oscar-winning actor Riz Ahmed has claimed that Britain's intelligence services attempted to recruit him as an informant on three separate occasions, with one approach allegedly involving a senior executive at the BBC.

The most dramatic attempt, he said, occurred at Luton airport after he returned from filming his breakout role in the 2006 film The Road to Guantanamo, The Guardian reported.

"They took me into a side room, put me in an arm lock, threatened to break my arm, took my phone," Ahmed recounted.

He said officers then asked him, "Did you become an actor to further the Muslim struggle?" After the intense questioning, they abruptly changed tack. "They were like: 'OK. Would you like to keep an eye out for us...?' ...