Navid Negahban

Biography

Navid Negahban is an Iranian-American actor, producer, and director whose work spans four decades, three continents, and over 166 credits in film, television, and video games. Born in Mashhad, Iran, he discovered theater at eight years old. He left Iran in 1985, traveling through Turkey and Bulgaria before arriving at a refugee camp in Ingelheim, Germany, where he applied for asylum. He spent eight years performing with the Rheinland-Pfalz Theater in Kaiserslautern before moving to the United States in 1993. He is fluent in Persian, English, and German. He is best known for playing Abu Nazir in Showtime's Homeland (2011–2013), Amahl Farouk / Shadow King in FX's Legion (2017–2019), The Sultan in Disney's live-action Aladdin (2019), General Abdul Rashid Dostum in 12 Strong (2018), Sheikh Al-Obodi in American Sniper (2014), Faraz Hamzad in FX's The Old Man (2022–2024), and Abbas Mansuri in Netflix's The Night Agent (2025). As a producer, his film Baba Joon won five Ophir Awards including Best Picture at the Israeli Film Academy. As a director, his short film The Apple Tree won Best Short Film at the Japan Indies Film Festival (2025). He received a BAFTA Games Award nomination for Best Performer for his work on 1979 Revolution: Black Friday (2017). He is represented by Innovative Artists. Official website: https://navidnegahban.com

Known For

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit

Law & Order

The Mentalist

NCIS

Criminal Minds

Arrow

24

All Movies (51)

• Hotel Tehran2026 · as Qasim
• Am Abgrund2024 · as Tofik Gasimov
• Sitting in Bars with Cake2023 · as Isaac
• Kandahar2023 · as Mohammad 'Mo' Doud
• In the Garden of Tulips2023
• Batman: The Doom That Came to Gotham2023 · as Ra's al Ghul (voice)
• Tehranto2022 · as Narrator (voice)
• Dark Corners2021 · as Karim
• The First Goodbye2021
• London Arabia2019 · as Mo
• In Full Bloom2019 · as The Shepherd (voice)
• Aladdin2019 · as Sultan
• Saat des Terrors2018 · as Kashif Baqri
• 12 Strong2018 · as General Dostum
• Osprey2017 · as Adam Zakaria
• Damascus Cover2017 · as Sarraj
• Carving a Life2017 · as Dr. Kasem
• American Assassin2017 · as Minister Behurz
• Price for Freedom2017 · as Victor Daniels
• Sand Castle2017 · as Kadeer
• Window Horses: The Poetic Persian Epiphany of Rosie Ming2017 · as Mehran (voice)
• Brain on Fire2017 · as Dr. Najjar
• Becoming the Enemy2017 · as Victor Daniels
• Sniper: Ghost Shooter2016 · as Mothershed
• Jimmy Vestvood: Amerikan Hero2016 · as Mohammad Mohammad-Mohammadi
• Baba Joon2015 · as Itzhak
• Day One2015 · as Dr. Nasir
• American Sniper2014 · as Sheikh Al-Obeidi
• Words and Pictures2014 · as Rashid
• The Moment2013 · as Malik Jamil
• The Power of Few2013 · as Sahel
• Atlas Shrugged: Part I2011 · as Dr. Robert Stadler
• Heal2010 · as Abdul
• Brothers2009 · as Murad
• Dead Air2009 · as Abir
• Liberation2009 · as Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi
• Diplomacy2009 · as Iranian Foreign Minister
• The Stoning of Soraya M.2009 · as Ali
• Powder Blue2009 · as Doctor Brooks
• The Ambassador's Wife2009 · as Ambassador
• Stellina Blue2009 · as Amir Keshavarz
• Djinn2008 · as Djinn
• Charlie Wilson's War2007 · as Refugee Camp Translator
• Broken2007 · as Keith
• Murder 101: If Wishes Were Horses2007 · as Sheik Ahmad
• Richard III2007 · as Sir James Tyrrel
• The Fallen Ones2005 · as Ammon
• Pretty Persuasion2005 · as Mr. Azzouni
• Saving Jessica Lynch2003 · as Fedayeen Colonel
• War Stories2003 · as Al Qaeda Rebel at Bridge
• Boundaries2000 · as Trombonist

All TV Shows (48)

• Splinter Cell: Deathwatch2025 · as Reza "Gunther" Karimi (voice)
• WondLa2024 · as Loroc (voice)
• Ghosts of Beirut2023 · as Ali Reza Asgari (2007)
• The Night Agent2023 · as Abbas Mansuri
• The Serpent Queen2022 · as Claude de Lorraine
• Pantheon2022 · as Farhad (voice)
• The Old Man2022 · as Faraz Hamzad
• The Cleaning Lady2022 · as Hayak Barsamian
• Tehran2020 · as Masoud Tabrizi
• God Friended Me2018 · as Hasan
• God Friended Me2018 · as Hassan
• Castlevania2017 · as Sala (voice)
• Legion2017 · as Amahl Farouk / Shadow King
• The Team2015 · as Said Gharbour
• Scorpion2014 · as Agent Khara
• Arrow2012 · as Al Ow-Al
• Veep2012 · as Abbas
• Homeland2011 · as Abu Nazir
• Person of Interest2011 · as Ali Hasan
• NCIS: Los Angeles2009 · as Aziz Anshiri
• Dark Blue2009 · as Ahmad Satar
• The Mentalist2008 · as Hassan Zarif
• Fringe2008 · as Dr. Malik Yusef
• Moonlight2007 · as Amir Fayed
• Shark2006 · as Amir Khan
• The Unit2006 · as Faheed
• Over There2005 · as Iraqi Father
• Criminal Minds2005 · as Hassan Nadir
• The Closer2005 · as Dr. al-Thani
• Lost2004 · as Omar
• NCIS2003 · as Jalil Shaloub
• Las Vegas2003 · as Farouk Naeem
• Threat Matrix2003 · as Fred
• Without a Trace2002 · as Nazar Rahim
• CSI: Miami2002 · as Rahim Farooq
• The Shield2002 · as Zayed Al-Thani
• 242001 · as Abdullah
• 242001 · as Jamot
• Alias2001 · as Foreman
• The Agency2001 · as Palestinian Officer
• The Agency2001 · as Arab Driver
• Curb Your Enthusiasm2000 · as Morsi
• The West Wing1999 · as Maz
• Law & Order: Special Victims Unit1999 · as Sam Farhidi
• Law & Order: Special Victims Unit1999 · as Rankesh Chanoor
• JAG1995 · as Jamal Bin Fahad Al-Hadi
• Law & Order1990 · as Imam Ibrahim
• Scene of the Crime1970 · as Harun