Faran Tahir To Play Shakespeare’s Othello On Stage

[Wednesday, 14th October’15]: Pakistani-American Hollywood actor Faran Tahir will be seen playing the title role in the theatrical rendition of Shakespeare’s classic literature work Othello, which will be staged at the Sidney Harman Hall (Washington DC) in February 2016.

The play is going to be a Shakespeare Theatre Company production, with internationally acclaimed director Ron Daniels overseeing the direction. Ron has previously served as the associate artistic director of the American Repertory Theatre and as artistic director of Royal Shakespeare Company’s (RSC) The Other Place Theatre. He is also an honorary associate director at the RSC.

Othello, which is often termed as one of the best works of English author William Shakespeare, is a tragedy which was written in 1603. It narrates the story of a Moorish general in the Venetian army; his beloved wife Desdemona; his loyal lieutenant Cassio and his trusted but unfaithful ensign, Iago. The story explores dark themes such as racism, love, jealousy, betrayal, revenge and repentance. Over the years, Othello has been adapted numerous times in film, TV, opera, ballet, music, graphic novels and paintings, inspiring other fictional stories as well.
Speaking about his excitement on portraying a character such as Othello who possesses both greatness and weakness at the same time, Faran comments, “I am very excited to take on this challenge and the timely themes of this wonderful tragedy including the heartbreaking destruction of a man”.

For those in the States wanting to see the show, tickets are now on sale. Save up to 30% off with Season Tickets or explore other buying options: http://wfly.co/Bz06A . Call The Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Box Office Staff at +1 202.547.1122 if you have any questions or need help with your purchase.

About Faran Tahir :

Faran Tahir (born February 16, 1964) is a Pakistani-American film and television actor. Tahir is best known for his act as Raza, the leader of a terrorist organization, “The Ten Rings” in Iron Man (2008). In 1985, he appeared as Bolshintsov in U.C. Berkeley’s production of A Month in the Country. He graduated from the University of California, Berkeley, with a BA in Theatre before acquiring a graduate degree from the American Repertory Theater’s (A.R.T.) Institute for Advanced Theater Training at Harvard University.

He made his film debut playing Nathoo in the Disney’s 1994 live-action version of Rudyard Kipling’s The Jungle Book. 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-based Iron Man. He played Starfleet Captain Richard Robau in the 2009 film Star Trek. In 2013, Tahir played President Patel in the science-fiction film Elysium.

Tahir has guest starred on many television series, including Alias, The Practice, Family Law, The Agency, NYPD Blue, Lost, 7th Heaven, The West Wing, Walker, Texas Ranger, The D.A., 24, Monk, Justice, Cold Case, Chuck and Warehouse 13. He also co-starred with Robert Beltran and Chase Masterson in the 2005 Sci-Fi Channel original movie Manticore. He also starred in the medical drama series Grey’s Anatomy as Isaac and appeared on the CW series Supernatural as the Egyptian god Osiris in the seventh season’s episode “Defending Your Life”. He appeared a Ruslan Denisov in The Blacklist Season 2 Episode 11, as Detective Terrence Amos in How To Get Away With Murder Season 1 Episode 10 and as Dr. Alan Kobrine in Backstrom Season 1, Episode 9. He is also played Frank, Cliff Barnes’ right-hand man in the reboot of Dallas. Tahir starred in the ghost horror film Jinn.
He appeared in JAG in the episodes “Ice Queen” and “Meltdown” which served as the two pilot episodes for the series NCIS. Seven years later, Tahir appeared in the spin-off NCIS: Los Angeles.