Faran Haroon Tahir is an American actor. Tahir made his film debut as Nathoo in

Disney's The Walt Disney Company, commonly referred to as simply Disney, is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Di ...

1994 film ''

The Jungle Book ''The Jungle Book'' is an 1894 collection of stories by the English author Rudyard Kipling. Most of the characters are animals such as Shere Khan the tiger and Baloo the bear, though a principal character is the boy or "man-cub" Mowgli, who ...

''. He went on to star in a variety of roles, such as Raza in ''

Iron Man Iron Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Co-created by writer and editor Stan Lee, developed by scripter Larry Lieber, and designed by artists Don Heck and Jack Kirby, the character first appearan ...

'' (2008), Captain Robau in ''

Star Trek ''Star Trek'' is an American science fiction media franchise created by Gene Roddenberry, which began with the Star Trek: The Original Series, series of the same name and became a worldwide Popular culture, pop-culture Cultural influence of ...

'' (2009), and President Patel in ''Elysium'' (2013). In 2016, he played the title role of ''

Othello ''The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice'', often shortened to ''Othello'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare around 1603. Set in Venice and Cyprus, the play depicts the Moorish military commander Othello as he is manipulat ...

'' in a production by the

Shakespeare Theatre Company The Shakespeare Theatre Company is a Regional theater in the United States, regional theatre company located in Washington, D.C. The theatre company focuses primarily on plays from the William Shakespeare, Shakespeare canon, but its seasons inc ...

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

Early life and education

Faran Haroon Tahir was born in

Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

to Naeem Tahir, a veteran actor and respected writer, and Yasmeen Tahir. Through his mother, "one of the most famous voices of

Radio Pakistan The Pakistan Broadcasting Corporation (); also known as ''Radio Pakistan'', serves as the national public broadcaster for radio in Pakistan. Although some local stations predate its founding, it is the oldest existing broadcasting network in P ...

", his grandparents are famous writers

Imtiaz Ali Taj Syed Imtiaz Ali Taj (; ; 1900–1970) was a Pakistani dramatist who wrote in the Urdu language. He is best known for his 1922 play ''Anarkali'', based on the life of Anarkali, that was staged hundreds of times and was adapted for feature film ...

and Hijab Imtiaz Ali, the first Muslim female pilot. His younger brother Ali Tahir is an actor as well, best known for starring in the comedy-drama sitcom '' Teen Bata Teen''. His other younger brother, Mehran Tahir, is a TV producer, who has worked for

Hum TV Hum TV HD is a 24-hour Urdu general entertainment TV channel based in Karachi, Pakistan. It was founded by Sultana Siddiqui and Duraid Qureshi. It is owned by Hum Network Limited and traded on the Pakistan Stock Exchange as (HUMNL). Hum Net ...

. Faran Tahir grew up in Pakistan and returned to the United States in 1980. Tahir studied

business economics Business economics is a field in applied economics which uses economic theory and quantitative methods to analyze business enterprises and the factors contributing to the diversity of organizational structures and the relationships of firms wit ...

at the

University of California, Berkeley The University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley, Berkeley, Cal, or California), is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Berkeley, California, United States. Founded in 1868 and named after t ...

before transitioning to the performing arts, graduating with a degree in theatre. He later graduated with a MFA from the

American Repertory Theater The American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) is a professional not-for-profit theater in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1979 by Robert Brustein, the A.R.T. is known for its commitment to new American plays and music–theater explorations; to ne ...

's (A.R.T.)

Institute for Advanced Theater Training The American Repertory Theater/Moscow Art Theatre (ART/МХАТ) Institute for Advanced Theater Training at Harvard University was founded in 1987 as a training ground for the new American Theater by Robert Brustein. The institute has been reside ...

Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...

Career

He made his film debut playing Nathoo in the

1994 live-action version of

Rudyard Kipling Joseph Rudyard Kipling ( ; 30 December 1865 – 18 January 1936)''The Times'', (London) 18 January 1936, p. 12. was an English journalist, novelist, poet, and short-story writer. He was born in British Raj, British India, which inspired much ...

's ''

''. He has since appeared in such films as '' Picture Perfect'' (1997), '' Anywhere But Here'' (1999) and '' Charlie Wilson's War'' (2007). He also played the male lead in the 1999 independent film '' ABCD''. In 2008, Tahir played the role of the villain Raza in the

Marvel Comics Marvel Comics is a New York City–based comic book publishing, publisher, a property of the Walt Disney Company since December 31, 2009, and a subsidiary of Disney Publishing Worldwide since March 2023. Marvel was founded in 1939 by Martin G ...

film ''

''. He played

Starfleet Starfleet is a fictional organization in the ''Star Trek'' media franchise. Within this fictional universe, Starfleet is a uniformed space force maintained by the United Federation of Planets ("the Federation") as the principal means for conduct ...

Captain Richard Robau in the 2009 film ''

''. In 2013, Tahir played President Patel in the science-fiction film ''

Elysium Elysium (), otherwise known as the Elysian Fields (, ''Ēlýsion pedíon''), Elysian Plains or Elysian Realm, is a conception of the afterlife that developed over time and was maintained by some Greek religious and philosophical sects and cult ...

''. Tahir has guest starred on many television series, including '' Alias'', ''

The Practice ''The Practice'' is an American legal drama television series created by David E. Kelley centering on partners and associates at a Boston law firm. The show ran for eight seasons on ABC, from March 4, 1997, to May 16, 2004. It won an Emmy i ...

'', ''

Family Law Family law (also called matrimonial law or the law of domestic relations) is an area of the law that deals with family matters and domestic relations. Overview Subjects that commonly fall under a nation's body of family law include: * Marriag ...

'', '' The Agency'', ''

NYPD Blue ''NYPD Blue'' is an American police procedural television series set in New York City, exploring the struggles of the fictional 15th Precinct detective squad in Manhattan. Each episode typically intertwines several plots involving an ensemble ca ...

'', '' Lost'', '' 7th Heaven'', ''

The West Wing ''The West Wing'' is an American political drama television series created by Aaron Sorkin that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1999, to May 14, 2006. The series is set primarily in the West Wing of the White House, where t ...

'', ''

Walker, Texas Ranger ''Walker, Texas Ranger'' is an American action fiction, action Crime drama, crime television series created by Leslie Greif and Paul Haggis. It was inspired by the film ''Lone Wolf McQuade'', with both the film and the series starring Chuck Norr ...

'', '' The D.A.'', '' 24'', ''

Monk A monk (; from , ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a man who is a member of a religious order and lives in a monastery. A monk usually lives his life in prayer and contemplation. The concept is ancient and can be seen in many reli ...

'', ''

Justice In its broadest sense, justice is the idea that individuals should be treated fairly. According to the ''Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy'', the most plausible candidate for a core definition comes from the ''Institutes (Justinian), Inst ...

'', ''

Cold Case ''Cold Case'' is an American police procedural crime drama television series. It ran on CBS from September 28, 2003, to May 2, 2010. The series revolved around a fictionalized Philadelphia Police Department division that specializes in invest ...

'', ''

Chuck Chuck () is a masculine given name or a nickname for Charles or Charlie. It may refer to: People Arts and entertainment * Chuck Alaimo, American saxophonist, leader of the Chuck Alaimo Quartet * Chuck Barris (1929–2017), American TV produce ...

'', '' Hawaii Five-0'' and ''

Warehouse 13 ''Warehouse 13'' is an American science fiction television series that originally ran from July 7, 2009, to May 19, 2014, on the Syfy network, and was executively produced by Jack Kenny and David Simkins for Universal Cable Productions. Des ...

''. He also co-starred with

Robert Beltran Robert Adame Beltran (born November 19, 1953) is an American actor known for his role as Commander Chakotay on the 1990s television series '' Star Trek: Voyager''. He is also known for stage acting in California, and for playing Raoul Mendoza ...

and

Chase Masterson Chase Masterson (born Christianne Carafano on February 26, 1963) is an American actress, singer and producer best known for her role as Leeta on ''Star Trek: Deep Space Nine''. She has appeared in the TV shows ''General Hospital'', ''Sliders'', ...

in the 2005 Sci-Fi Channel original movie ''

Manticore The manticore or mantichore (Latin: ''mantichorās''; reconstructed Old Persian: ; Modern ) is a legendary creature from ancient Persian mythology, similar to the Egyptian sphinx that proliferated in Western European medieval art as well. It ha ...

''. He also starred in the medical drama series ''

Grey's Anatomy ''Grey's Anatomy'' is an American medical drama television series focusing on the personal and professional lives of surgical internship (medicine), interns, residency (medicine), residents, and attending physician, attendings at the fictional ...

'' as Isaac and appeared on the CW series ''

Supernatural Supernatural phenomena or entities are those beyond the Scientific law, laws of nature. The term is derived from Medieval Latin , from Latin 'above, beyond, outside of' + 'nature'. Although the corollary term "nature" has had multiple meanin ...

'' as the Egyptian god

Osiris Osiris (, from Egyptian ''wikt:wsjr, wsjr'') was the ancient Egyptian deities, god of fertility, agriculture, the Ancient Egyptian religion#Afterlife, afterlife, the dead, resurrection, life, and vegetation in ancient Egyptian religion. He was ...

in the seventh season's episode "Defending Your Life". Tahir starred in the ghost horror film ''Jinn'', and in the role of Frank,

Cliff Barnes Clifford "Cliff" Barnes, portrayed by Ken Kercheval, is a fictional character from the American television series ''Dallas''. Cliff is a longtime rival of the Ewing family, particularly J.R. Ewing, with whom he shares one of the most iconic feud ...

' right-hand man in the revival of ''

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

''. In 2015 Tahir appeared in a role as the Commander on ''

Supergirl Supergirl is the name of several fictional superheroines appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The original, current, and most well known Supergirl is Supergirl (Kara Zor-El), Kara Zor-El, the cousin of superhero Superman. Th ...

''. He appeared in '' JAG'' in the episodes "Ice Queen" and "Meltdown" which served as the two pilot episodes for the series ''

NCIS NCIS or N.C.I.S. may refer to: Law enforcement * National Criminal Intelligence Service, the predecessor to the Serious Organised Crime Agency of the United Kingdom * Naval Criminal Investigative Service, a United States law enforcement and intelli ...

''. Seven years later, Tahir appeared in the spin-off '' NCIS: Los Angeles''. In 2016 Tahir joined '' American Crime'' as Rhys Bashir, and was cast as Captain Nemo on ''

Once Upon a Time "Once upon a time" is a stock phrase used to introduce a narrative of past events, typically in fairy tales and folk tales. It has been used in some form since at least 1380 in storytelling in the English language and has started many narrative ...

. ''In 2017, Tahir played the role of Mallick in Syfy's TV show, ''

12 Monkeys ''12 Monkeys'' is a 1995 American Science fiction film, science fiction thriller film directed by Terry Gilliam from a screenplay by David Peoples and Janet Peoples, based on Chris Marker's 1962 short film ''La Jetée''. It stars Bruce Willis, M ...

''. On his visit to Karachi, Pakistan, he appeared in a web series '' Speak Your Heart With Samina Peerzada'' in January 2019. In June 2024, Faran, along with his Umrao Ayyar co-star Ali Kazmi, appeared in a vlog by PakWheels. Faran will be seen in the upcoming Pakistani movie ''Umro Ayyar - A New Beginning'', an action thriller movie produced by Azfar Jafri under the banner of VR Chili Production. ''Umro Ayyar - A New Beginning'' was expected for release in 2024 worldwide.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

Stage

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Tahir, Faran 1963 births Living people Male actors from Los Angeles American expatriates in Pakistan American male film actors American male television actors Institute for Advanced Theater Training, Harvard University alumni University of California, Berkeley alumni 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors American male soap opera actors American actors of Pakistani descent Muslims from California