Waris Ahluwalia is a man of many talents. As an actor, he’s starred in films such as The Life Aquatic and The Grand Budapest Hotel. As a designer, his House of Waris label produces jewellery influenced by his Indian-American heritage. As a model, he was the first Sikh American to appear in a campaign for GAP. He’s presented at New York Fashion Week, collaborated with brands including A.P.C. and Pringle, and even hosted restaurant pop-ups.

So, in a way, it’s deeply unfair that Ahluwalia has become known internationally not for all his talents, but for his religious beliefs – specifically, for his refusal to remove his Sikh turban at an airline departure gate. On Monday, he found himself at the centre of a media storm after he was banned from boarding an Aeromexico fight to New York. As he explained in a series of Instagram posts which were shared across the world, Ahluwalia was approached by security officers after checking in for his flight and asked to remove his turban – something which is considered sacrosanct within Sikhism. When his request for a private room to do so in was denied, Ahluwalia returned to his hotel.

We often see the petulant whines of entitled A-listers on social media, whether they’re griping about being downgraded from economy class (the horror!) or not being allowed to take hoverboards on airplanes. So it’s deeply refreshing to learn that when Ahluwalia was approached by airline staff who’d clocked who he was, and offered to put him on the next flight, he refused – deciding to use his public profile to educate people about cultural difference and racism instead. Using the hashtag #fearisanopportunitytoeducate, Ahluwalia spent the new two days in Mexico City, awaiting a resolution with the airline management. After they assured him that they would implement new protocols and educate their staff, Ahluwalia posed for a dignified selfie with the pilots of his Aeromexico flight to New York.

Despite rolling on about two hours sleep and having just walked through the door of his New York City apartment after finally flying in from Mexico, Ahluwali found time to chat on the phone with Dazed about the events of the last few days. We spoke about why fear should be an opportunity to educate – and about why what the Aeromexico incident represents is much bigger than one man and his turban.

Hi Waris, thanks for talking to me, you must be exhausted after the last few days. You’ve managed to shift the debate around airport security screening and how Sikhs and other minorities are treated in the USA. Do you feel a sense of success?

Waris Ahluwalia: This is barely a drop in the bucket. There’s a lot to be done, but I am pleased with what we did achieve, because change has to start somewhere – no matter how small a victory that first step is. I got a text, actually just now from a friend – let me pull it up [he checks his phone] – it said, ‘had a great conversation with the kids about all of this last night’. Right? That’s all it is. We can’t change problems if we’re not talking about them. So to hear that was just perfect. That’s the biggest victory. That we’re talking about this around the world. So it’s not about me, or being Sikh. It’s about humanity, and how we treat each other.

You’ve been really dignified throughout all of this, you’ve not criticised the airline and you’ve spoken about the need for education. You have a platform because of who you are – was that your main factor for speaking out?

Waris Ahluwalia: I couldn’t have predicted how any of this turned out, so I wasn’t really thinking about my platform or who I was when any of this started. I thought it would just take a few hours and it would be resolved. But when that moment came, and they offered me a boarding pass for the next flight – at that moment I didn’t even have to think about it, it’s like every bone in my body knew I couldn’t get on it. Everything I’ve ever stood for and been taught in my life was tested at that moment. It’s not about me or my convenience. So I said, ‘I’m sorry, I can’t board this plane’. Because what if I got on that plane and on the very next flight there was someone else who encountered the same thing? I’m a Sikh, and the basic principle on which Sikhism was founded was about religious tolerance. So here I was, doing the thing that was set out for Sikhs to do centuries ago! The turban is a symbol of justice and equality and allowing all religions to practice their faith. And the other side of me is American, I know about my rights and I’ve read Civil Obedience and I’ve studied the constitution. So it wasn’t about me using my influence or anything like that. It was just about me trying to reach a few people and try and educate them. But I didn’t think I would reach the whole world.

At the moment it’s Black History Month, and we just had Beyonce’s Super Bowl performance which was a powerful affirmation of the Black Lives Matter movement. And then on the other hand we have Donald Trump winning the New Hampshire primary. Do you feel like America’s racism problem is finally bubbling up?

Waris Ahluwalia: I think everything seems to be coming to a head at the moment, definitely. But I think racism has always existed. Humans tend to go for the easiest emotion, they tend to be lazy. And that emotion is fear, and anger. They’re the feelings that grow the fastest, they’re like a cancer. So it’s easy to get people on your side by putting fear on the table. What befuddles me is that we never seem to learn from history. And it’s not about me not being able to get on a plane, it’s about people being treated like humans. This is about lives being lost to hate crimes and racism. In December we saw a doubling of hate crimes towards Sikhs. So this is a much, much larger problem, but what’s amazing is that we’re talking about this. And so it’s amazing that I’m talking to you, for Dazed, because the kids that read Dazed need to realise that I’m no different from anyone else. There’s nothing about me that makes me more able to deal with this. Anyone of us has the ability to fight fear, and hate.

It’s interesting that this happened to you during Black History Month, because your story reminds me of Rosa Parks refusing to give up her seat on the bus. Are you hopeful that your actions will inspire other people to intervene when they see injustice or racial discrimination?

Waris Ahluwalia: Yes! I hope it catches fire. That we realise that we’re responsible for ourselves, and our neighbours. Rosa Parks was just one person, but she started a movement, and a movement can start with anybody. It’s not about me, it’s about everyone taking that role and becoming that one person who creates a movement and creates change. I’m reminded of Jackie Robinson, he just wanted to play baseball – he didn’t want to become a civil rights activist. I just want to make movies and art. I’m not looking to be a civil rights activist. I’m not looking to be the face of Sikhs in America. This is not what I signed up for. But I keep getting thrust into this role, this happened with my GAP campaign a few years ago. It keeps coming up, and I won’t hide from it.

You said something really interesting in your Christiane Amanpour interview, which is that obviously Black Lives Matter is incredibly important, but racial diversity in America isn’t just white people and black people. Do you feel like other minorities in the USA get pushed out of the diversity debate?

Waris Ahluwalia: Completely! It’s not even a little bit, they get pushed out completely. It’s almost comical. For example, if you sprinkle a few black people into an all-white nomination list, suddenly it’s diverse? So diversity equals black and white? What about the rest of the world? And of course, diversity has to start somewhere, and it’s great that we’re seeing more African-Americans in more lead roles. But to just talk about diversity as being black and white – it’s a bit of a joke.