An Interview with Shaun Toub and Shila Ommi from ‘Tehran’

Shaun Toub and Shila Ommi are highly accomplished actors that have appeared in a great deal of shows and movies over the course of their careers. Currently, they star as Faraz and Nahid Kamali on the Apple TV+ series, Tehran, and we here at NTG were fortunate enough to sit down with both of them before tomorrow’s season finale to discuss their roles on this wildly popular show.
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John Betancourt: I would love to know, what got both of you into acting?

Shila Ommi: I attended Van Nuys High School when I was 15 years old. And I had a few very difficult years before 15 Because of the revolution in Iran and losing everything and going from riches to rags overnight. And so, at the age of 15, I discovered theater, and it was like coming home. And so that's where I discovered theater, I always wanted to act. But somehow, I think because I hadn't seen anyone representing me, anyone who looked like me, was from where I was from, I always thought acting for the film was for Gods. So I went to school, I was a pre-med, and never even imagined acting for the camera until years later.

Shaun Toub: I just started acting this week. (Laughter from everyone.)

John Betancourt: I never would have known!

Shaun Toub: No… I've been in the business for 35 years now. And I've been blessed to say that I've been in incredible shows and incredible movies. You know, Crash that won the Oscar, and The Kite Runner and did a hundred episodics and Iron Man, and Homeland. And so, I've been in the business for quite some time and, I still, I still, I still love it. I was raised in Manchester, England when I was two and I went to Switzerland for schooling. And then at 16, I came to New Hampshire and then went to Boston, and then came to USC. And I stayed in LA. And I wanted to be an actor since I was five years old. But my parents were podiatrists. And they were not gonna have that (more laughter). So, it took me a while and was in real estate. And I got lucky. I got lucky.

John Betancourt: Now moving forward a bit, I’d love to know a little more about what attracted you to your respective characters in Tehran.

Shaun Toub: Actually, I got a call from Danny, the director. And I got a call, I got an email and he said, “You know, there's this project in, in Israel, and I, you know, I want to talk to you about it.” It was very sweet and everything I said, sure. And we start talking, and then I said, you know, “Hollywood actors are not going to do this.” And then he sent me a script, the first one, and then I looked at it and said, “So, you know, this is pretty good. But thank you so much, but I can’t do this.” You know, because, again, I wasn't sure that I would do that. And then to make a long story short, he sent me a second one and the third one and the fourth one, then yeah. So, we kept on talking and then I think it took us about two and a half months. And finally, I said, “I’ve got to do this. This script is incredible.” And Danny actually came to LA from Israel, and we had lunch, actually with Shila.
Shila Ommi: Dinner!

Shaunt Toub: Yeah! Dinner. And yeah, that’s what happened.

Shila Ommi: Well, John, Mr. Toub, and I played man and wife on another Apple TV Plus show called Little America. And it’s wonderful. It's one of my favorite shows, as well. So, when Shaun had received, you know, and he decided to finally do Tehran, he suggested me for the role of his wife, because we'd already played man and wife before, and we'd already built some rapport. And I did my best to do a very good job on that audition, because I wanted to make Shaun proud of me. And when Dan Sirkin, the director came to town, and he took Sean and I out for dinner, at that point, I still wasn't sure if I was going to play the part because I hadn't read all the episodes as Shaun had, I only read the sides that I'd auditioned with.

But during that dinner, Danny told me about what an interesting character Nahid is, how nuanced and complex she is, and how she's so intricately involved in season one. And so, I knew that she wasn't just one of those ornamental wife characters that you see so much of and, and seeing how much Danny, even though he's an Israeli, he loves Iranians so much. It just warmed my heart to see how he loves our culture, he's learning Persian, he loves our poetry and, and just so much about Iranians. And during that dinner, he said that, he said, “you know, you have such beautiful people in Iran. And it's a shame that the world doesn't know, because all the images they have of Iran are on the news. And they're very negative. Dark, grey images.” So, he said that he wanted to show the world the all the different facets of our culture as well. So that sealed the deal for me.

John Betancourt: Now that brings me to my next question. In that, what kind of research did you both do for your respective characters? Because this is a part of the world that is shunned, stateside. So how did you gather all the information you needed?

Shila Ommi: You'd be surprised how much research is available on YouTube. So, I watched tons and tons, dozens and dozens of videos. As you know, my character Nahid Kamali is going through severe PTSD and agoraphobia. So, I was able to find actual people who have PTSD and agoraphobia and to be able to watch them speak to an interviewer and to see how their eyes move how their voices, and to hear just stories about their past was very helpful for me.

Shaun Toub: Well, I am, I'm a little different. You know, for me, it's all about the script. And when I started reading the scripts, and, you know, I've been in the business for a long time, and I don't take the job unless the character really speaks to me. So, when, I see it on the script, I immediately, I know exactly what this character is about. It’s just… it's weird. And everybody else says that… but I knew. I knew what Faraz was about.

John Betancourt: Well that makes it easy and that also leads me to my next question. how did each of you get into the mindset of playing characters that are so complex and often distressed?

Shaun Toub: Well, you know, Faraz, you know, the first season it was different, then all of a sudden, he got shot, and then he lost his job, and he wasn't the same Faraz that we knew. And I actually talked to Danny about it, and I wanted to make sure that you know, I took some weight off because I felt like Faraz couldn't be the same as before. And also, you know, the limp. The way he walks, I felt like Faraz has to be different. And I don't know, again, it’s just… I’m weird (laughs). I just, I just feel it. I just really feel it. You know when I'm walking, the… you know, it's funny. A friend of mine came down when I was doing Iron Man and then the minute they said, “action,” uh, I would blink my eyes. And then my friend was, “why were you blinking?” “Oh, I didn't notice that. I'm just… the character’s doing it.” So that's, that's what I feel.

Shila Ommi: So, Shaun Toub has had 35 years of experience in front of the camera, and he, he's a totally different actor than me, I had to do a tremendous amount of research and to just put myself in that broken situation. And it's, it's not easy. I actually, my mom had passed away a couple years before shooting season two, so I brought some mementoes of hers. So, a lot of times for some of these really difficult roles, I would go and take -- Danny Sirkin was so lovely that he gave me some time to, to sit with that and to sit with my own brokenness and my own pain so that what I was able to do was authentic.

John Betancourt: I am sorry for your loss.

Shila Ommi: Thank you.

John Betancourt: So, to shift gears a bit, I would love to know what it means to each of you to be part of a show that is basically… a global phenomenon.

Shila Ommi: Oh, my God. So, first and foremost, my gratitude goes to the creators of the show to the writers and creators and all the producers of the show, and to Apple TV Plus, because of the fact that it's a service that crosses continents, it's so exciting that as you said, we do have a global audience. I've been very heavily involved in the Persian theater scene where we do plays in Persian and travel the world to audiences, Iranian audiences who speak Farsi and Diaspora. So, I understand how sad it is to work so hard on creating a show for people, to not have a whole lot of audience members. So, it's just a thrill for me to be with Apple TV Plus, and to have a global audience for the work that I do for people.

Shaun Toub: I mean, it's a global phenomenon, as you say, it's in 135 countries now. And, you know, this little series that we did, the first season, you know, it became a huge thing. And thank God that we are with Apple TV Plus, and, that they took it on, and they're doing an incredible job for us, because now people can see our series. Yeah. So, you know, Tehran has become a phenomenon, and people are loving it, and I get messages from all over the world, India, Italy, and Iranians, Iranians from Iran, you know, because I'm Iranian, but I'm Jewish. And so, it's an interesting thing. But the Iranians at first, they were like, “Oh, you know, it's a Zionist series and this and that,” and now they love the series because… it's a balanced show. It's really a balanced show. It's not… it doesn't take…

Shila Ommi: It doesn’t take sides.

Shaun Toub: Yeah, it doesn’t take sides.

John Betancourt: Last question I have for you today, what are you most proud of when it comes to your time on the show?

Shaun Toub: Oh, my God, there's so much… there's so much. I honestly. First of all, I love Greece. I love the people. I have now so many friends there. But also, you know, everybody in the sets, from directors and producers to, you know, gaffers, everyone. They really wanted to make sure that we do our best. Because it was again, I've said that before. It's a love fest, you know, and we are blessed. I’m blessed that I’m in a series and that people are really enjoying it… and wait to see what happens. There is more to come!

Shila Ommi: I just feel extra blessed to be on another Apple TV Plus show because it really is home to today's best storytellers. So, I feel like I'm in incredible company. And I also love being on a show that that shows the world that although our culture's might be different, that it's a show that examines our collective humanity, and focuses on what we have in common. Because I really believe that human evolution relies on people, and people opening one another's hearts to one another. And the best way to do that is through a really good, complex, character driven show that is exciting and thrilling.

Shaun Toub: Oh! You know that that's why, you know, the Iranians and the Israelis, they love the show, because we really are the same people, we really are the same people. And unfortunately, you know, because our governments do this dividing… but otherwise, yeah, we’re the same people.

Shila Ommi: So, I also love that, you know, like Iran, Persia, we changed our name from Persia to Iran in the 50s. But Persia and Greece were enemies. And today, supposedly, Iran and Israel are enemies. And here's the show where the Greeks and the Israelis and the Iranians, these artists get together to create something for the world. And it really was a love fest, as Shaun put it so sweetly.

This interview has been lightly edited and condensed for clarity.

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