Navid Negahban () is an Iranian-American actor. He has appeared on '' 24'', ''

Homeland A homeland is a place where a national or ethnic identity has formed. The definition can also mean simply one's country of birth. When used as a proper noun, the Homeland, as well as its equivalents in other languages, often has ethnic natio ...

'', '' Mistresses'', and as Amahl Farouk / Shadow King in the second and third seasons of FX's '' Legion''. He has also starred as the Sultan in the live-action remake of ''

Aladdin Aladdin ( ; , , ATU 561, 'Aladdin') is a Middle-Eastern folk tale. It is one of the best-known tales associated with '' One Thousand and One Nights'' (often known in English as ''The Arabian Nights''), despite not being part of the original ...

''.

Early life and education

Navid Negahban was born in

Mashhad Mashhad ( ; ), historically also known as Mashad, Meshhed, or Meshed in English, is the List of Iranian cities by population, second-most-populous city in Iran, located in the relatively remote north-east of the country about from Tehran. ...

, Iran. He took a liking to the theater when he was eight years old, while provoking laughter from a large audience by portraying an old man on stage. He left Iran in 1985 when he was 17 for Turkey and then Germany, where he spent eight years. In Germany, he worked for a theater company, and then in 1993 he moved to the United States. He is fluent in English, German, and Persian. He also began learning French for his role on '' Legion''.

Career

He has appeared in '' The Shield'', ''

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 ...

'', '' Lost'', and '' CSI: Miami''. He has collaborated twice with Iranian-American actress Necar Zadegan, once in '' 24'', where her on-screen husband ordered his interrogation and the torturing of his family, and also in ''CSI: Miami'', where, as his wife, she killed him. Negahban also had two collaborations with another Iranian-American actress, Mozhan Marnò, in the TV series '' The Unit'' and the movie '' The Stoning of Soraya M.'', where he plays the husband of Soraya (Marnò). In 2008, Negahban voiced and provided his likeness to the character Dr. Challus Mercer in the survival horror game ''

Dead Space ''Dead Space'' is a science fiction horror franchise created and directed by Glen Schofield. ''Dead Space'' was developed by Visceral Games and published and owned by Electronic Arts. The franchise's chronology is not presented in a linear format ...

''. Negahban also appeared as terrorist mastermind Abu Nazir in the critically acclaimed TV series ''

''. In 2011 he won the Best Actor Award for the 2009 Iranian short film, ''Liberation'' at the Noor Iranian Film Festival, and in 2012, he returned to serve as an official festival judge. In February 2015, ''

The Hollywood Reporter ''The Hollywood Reporter'' (''THR'') is an American digital and print magazine which focuses on the Cinema of the United States, Hollywood film industry, film, television, and entertainment industries. It was founded in 1930 as a daily trade pap ...

'' and '' Variety'' confirmed that Negahban had begun shooting the spy thriller, '' Damascus Cover'', based on the novel by Howard Kaplan, alongside Jonathan Rhys Meyers,

Olivia Thirlby Olivia Jo Thirlby (born October 6, 1986) is an American actress. She is best known for her roles as Leah in the comedy-drama film '' Juno'' (2007),Louie, Rebecca (June 28, 2008).Olivia Thirlby is smoking in 'The Wackness'". '' Daily News''. Retr ...

, and

John Hurt Sir John Vincent Hurt (22 January 1940 – 28 January 2017) was an English actor. Regarded as one of the finest actors of his time and known for the "most distinctive voice in Cinema of the United Kingdom, Britain", he was described by David Ly ...

. Negahban played the role of Syrian General Sarraj. He appeared as General

Abdul Rashid Dostum Abdul Rashid Dostum ( ; ; Uzbek language, Uzbek Uzbek alphabet, Latin: , Uzbek Uzbek alphabet, Cyrillic: , ; born 25 March 1954) is an Afghan former Officer (armed forces), military officer, warlord and exiled politician. He is the founder and ...

in the 2018 war drama, '' 12 Strong'', and also starred as the Sultan in the 2019 live-action adaptation of ''Aladdin''. In 2022, he appeared in the American crime drama television series '' The Cleaning Lady'' as Hayak Barsamian, an Armenian Mob Boss. In 2025 he appeared as Abbas Mansuri in Netflix's The Night Agent, the Iranian Ambassador to the UN working in New York. Of interest is that in the entire show his dialog is in Persian (Farsi) with subtitles in English, giving an added air of credibility to the character.

Filmography

Film

Television

Video games

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Negahban, Navid 1968 births Living people American male film actors American male television actors Iranian male film actors Iranian male television actors Actors from Mashhad 20th-century American male actors 21st-century American male actors Iranian emigrants to Turkey Iranian emigrants to the United States Iranian emigrants to Germany Exiles of the Iranian Revolution in Germany Exiles of the Iranian Revolution in the United States