Shaun Toub
Shaun Toub (Persian: شان توب, born April 6, 1963) is an Iranian-born American actor. He is best known for his roles as Yinsen in Iron Man (2008) and Iron Man 3 (2013), Farhad in Crash (2004), Rahim Khan in The Kite Runner (2007), Majid Javadi in the Showtime TV series Homeland, and Faraz Kamali in Tehran (2020).
Shaun Toub | |
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Toub at the 83rd Academy Awards | |
Born | |
Citizenship | United States |
Alma mater | University of Southern California |
Occupation | Actor |
Years active | 1988–present |
Spouse(s) | Lorena Toub |
Early life
Toub, who is of Persian-Jewish background,[2] was born in Tehran,[1] Iran. His parents were both podiatrists. At age 2, he moved to Manchester, England,[3] where his mother attended podiatry school. He returned to Iran, where he lived until he was 13, before moving to Switzerland. He moved to Nashua, New Hampshire to finish his last year of high school. He decided at age 5 he wanted to become an actor.[4] His high school yearbook notes: "The funniest guy in school and the most likely to succeed in the entertainment world." After two years of college in Massachusetts, Toub transferred to USC.
Toub is active in the Iranian-Jewish community, through various charity events and public speaking. He has been a recipient of the Sephard award at the Los Angeles Sephardic Film Festival.[5] Toub resides in Los Angeles, with his wife, Lorena.
Career
Through a chance encounter with a talent agent, he broke into the Hollywood scene. Toub has made appearances in over 100 television episodes including Seinfeld, The Sopranos, ER, NCIS, Married... with Children, Lost, Homeland and various movies made for television.
His filmography includes his performance in Michael Bay's Bad Boys with Will Smith and Martin Lawrence, John Woo's Broken Arrow with John Travolta and Christian Slater and Mick Jackson's Live from Baghdad starring Michael Keaton and Helena Bonham Carter for HBO. His performance as Farhad in Paul Haggis's Oscar-winning film Crash received positive reviews.[6] He played the part of the Virgin Mary's father in The Nativity Story. He also played Rahim Khan in The Kite Runner (2007).[7]
In the 2008 film Iron Man, Toub played Ho Yinsen, a surgeon held captive by terrorists who first saves Tony Stark's life then helps Stark escape by helping him construct the first Iron Man suit. Toub reprised the role in a cameo appearance in the 2013 film Iron Man 3.
In the series Grimm he played the part of Bonaparte, one of the villains of the latest series.[8]
Filmography
Films
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1988 | Out of Time | Speechmaker | Television film |
Glitz | Maitre d' | Television film | |
1989 | Dark Holiday | Prison Soldier | Television film |
1991 | Before the Storm | Jeep Soldier | Television film |
1993 | Desperate Rescue: The Cathy Mahone Story | ||
Hot Shots! Part Deux | Sleeping Guard | ||
1995 | OP Center | Lt. Arkov | Television film |
Bad Boys | Store Clerk | ||
1996 | Broken Arrow | Max | |
Executive Decision | Terrorist | ||
Suddenly | Mr. Tabibsidan | Television film | |
1997 | Path to Paradise | El Sayyid Nosair | Television film |
Steel Sharks | Capt. Reza Lashgar | ||
Out to Sea | Bettor in Front | ||
1999 | Stigmata | Doctor | |
D.R.E.A.M. Team | Prince Ali Saleed | Television film | |
2002 | Maryam | Dr. Darius Armin | |
Live from Baghdad | Sadoun Al-Jenabi | Television film | |
2003 | Underground | Dark Skinned Man | Short film |
2004 | Land of Plenty | Hassan | |
Crash | Farhad | ||
2006 | The Path to 9/11 | Emad Salem | Television film |
The Nativity Story | Joaquim | ||
2007 | The Kite Runner | Rahim Khan | |
Charlie Wilson's War | Hassan | Uncredited | |
2008 | Iron Man | Ho Yinsen | |
2010 | The Last Airbender | Uncle Iroh | |
2011 | Setup | Roth | |
2013 | Papa | Evan Shipman | |
Iron Man 3 | Ho Yinsen | ||
2014 | Stretch | Nasseem | |
Unity | Narrator | Documentary | |
2015 | Papa: Hemingway in Cuba | Evan Shipman | |
2016 | War Dogs | Marlboro | |
2020 | Ghosts of War | Mr. Helwig |
Television
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1988 | Hunter | Phillip DePaul/Stephen Avak | Episodes "Need Justice: Part 1" and "Need Justice: Part 2" |
1990 | Columbo | Amir | Episode: "Agenda for Murder" |
Matlock | Rahmad Hussein | Episode: "Nowhere to Turn" | |
Dragnet | Ralph Singas | Episode: "Queen of Hearts" | |
Gabriel's Fire | Attendant | Episode: "Windows" | |
1991 | Under Cover | Jeep Soldier | Episode: "Sacrifices" |
In the Heat of the Night | Cabby | Episode: "Unfinished Business" | |
1993 | Bodies of Evidence | Rajeeb Kambata | Episode: "Eleven Grains of Sand" |
1993–97 | Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman | Asabi | Episodes "Pilot", "Neverending Battle", "I'm Looking Through You" and "All Shook Up", "Seconds" and "I've Got You Under My Skin" |
1994 | Living Single | Cabby | Episode: "Fatal Distraction" |
Café Americain | Colonel Faisal | Episode: "Love the One You're With" | |
One West Waikiki | Joseph Kastrami | Episode: "Terminal Island" | |
The Bold and the Beautiful | Moustafa | 2 episodes | |
Married... with Children | Akbar | Episode: "A Man for No Seasons" | |
1995 | Ellen | Foreign Man | Episode: "Hello, I Must Be Going" |
JAG | Prison Commandant | Episode: "Scimitar" | |
1996 | Sisters | Weatherman | Episode: "Don't Go to Springfield" |
1996 | Nash Bridges | Cecil Riskin | Episode: "Hit Parade" |
1996 | Sliders | Kheri-Heb | Episode: "Slide Like an Egyptian" |
1996–97 | Pacific Blue | Mahmood | Episodes "Outlaw Extreme" and "The Last Ride" |
1997 | Walker, Texas Ranger | Lance | Episode: "Last Hope" |
ER | Butler | Episode: "Ground Zero" | |
Seinfeld | Pinter | Episode: "The Betrayal" | |
The Visitor | N/A | Episode: "Going Home" | |
1998 | Early Edition | Hassan Rejim | Episode: "Mum's the Word" |
Cybill | Scary Man | Episode: "Ka-Boom!" | |
Soldier of Fortune, Inc. | Hamzed Ali Amin | Episode: "Iraq and Roll" | |
1999 | G vs E | Dr. Clean | Episode: "Evilator" |
CI5: The New Professionals | Shabadi | Episode: "Orbit" | |
Just Shoot Me! | Ernesto | Episode: "Love Is in the Air" | |
2000 | Cover Me | Spiros | Episode: "Where Have You Gone, Sandy Koufax?" |
Charmed | Triad Member #2 | Episodes "Magic Hour", "Sight Unseen" and "Power Outrage" | |
2001 | Malcolm in the Middle | Janic | Episode: "Hal Quits" |
The Sopranos | Arouk Abboubi | Episode: "Employee of the Month" | |
Son of the Beach | Mohammed | Episode: "Chip's a Goy" | |
Special Unit 2 | Herkamer | Episode: "The Wraps" | |
The District | Boris | Episodes "Fools Russian: Part 1" and "Fools Russian: Part 2" | |
The Division | Yuri | Episode: "The First Hit's Free, Baby" | |
2002 | She Spies | Joshua Bick | Episode: "Poster Girl" |
2003 | The Agency | Colonel Tambour - Al Tayeh's Deputy | Episode: "Unholy Alliances" |
2006–07 | Smith | Jerry | Episodes "Pilot", "Three" and "Four" |
2007 | Lost | Sami | Episode: "Enter 77" |
2008 | NCIS | Khalid Mohammed Bakr | Episode: "Tribes" |
2009 | The Unit | Misha Belikov | Episode: "Bad Beat" |
Chuck | Dr. Mohammed Zamir | Episode: "Chuck Versus the Broken Heart" | |
2011 | Castle | Philip Boyd | Episode: "Head Case" |
2012 | Luck | Dr. Khan | Episodes "Ace Forces Escalante to Swap Jockeys" and "Two Prized Colts Go Head-to-Head" |
Last Resort | Admiral Safir Ahsan | Episode: "Cinderella Liberty" | |
2013, 2017 | Homeland | Majid Javadi[9] | 10 Episodes |
2015 | The Blacklist | Commander Kushan | Episode "Ruslan Denisov (No. 67)" |
2016 | Grimm | Conrad Bonaparte | Season 5, 4 Episodes |
2017 | Scandal | Ambassador Marachi | Season 7, 2 Episodes |
2020 | Snowpiercer | Terence | Recurring role |
2020 | Tehran | Faraz Kamali | Season 1 |
References
- Saba, Behrouz (November 29, 2005). "'Tehrangeles' Rising - Iranian-Americans Make Their Mark in Hollywood". Pacific News Service. Archived from the original on November 23, 2007.
- Beale, Lewis (December 12, 2007). "'Kite Runner' defies film stereotypes of Muslims". Newsday. Archived from the original on December 14, 2007.
- Elliott, David (December 17, 2007). "Wise in the old ways". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Archived from the original on May 7, 2008.
- Sadri, Iman (September 19, 2016). "Prime Time Persian : Q+A with Shaun Toub : The Most Prolific Iranian American Actor in Hollywood History". Persian Observer. Retrieved March 23, 2017.
- Schleier, Curt (October 28, 1999). "A Night at the Sephardic Film Festival". The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles. Retrieved November 27, 2018.
- "Shaun Toub". The New York Times. Retrieved December 16, 2013.
- Accomando, Beth (December 21, 2007). "The Kite Runner Interview With Shaun Toub". KPBS (TV). Retrieved December 16, 2013.
- Vkanty, Edward (May 14, 2016). "'Grimm' Actor Shaun Toub Reveals 'Bad Night' was just the beginning of Bonaparte's Plot'". Inquisitr.
- O'Connell, Michael (July 16, 2013). "'Homeland' Casts Martin Donovan, 'Iron Man' Actor for Season 3". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 17, 2013.
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to Shaun Toub. |
- Shaun Toub at IMDb
- Shaun Toub's website {web archive}
- Shaun Toub cover story in OCPC magazine {web archive}