EXCLUSIVE: Shila Vosough believes her Tehran character Nahid is "a far more powerful character" than she is

Apple TV's Tehran is now out with all eight episodes of its second season. The Iranian espionage thriller gained a considerable fan base, both in Iran and outside, when it was first released in 2020. With the release of its second season, things only got more intense and complicated.

Shila Vosough plays Nahid Kamali, the wife of Faraz, an Iranian intelligence officer chasing the Mossad hacker-agent Tamar. From talking about her preparations for the role to her own reckonings with the character, Shila Vosough engaged with Sneha Haldar of SK POP to discuss her character, whom she believes is vulnerable and broken, yet extremely powerful:

"But as vulnerable and as broken that she becomes, she's a far more powerful character than I am. She's married to a man who's one of the highest ranking intelligence officers in Iran. So for a woman to have that kind of a character as a husband- she's a powerhouse in her own right."

Indeed, Nahid, with her character development throughout season one and two where she contends with trauma and even recovers, is an extremely powerful character in the show.

---

Shila Vosough on contending with her Iranian roots and Tehran character, Nahid

Shila Vosough is an Iranian-born actress who grew up in Los Angeles. Her Iranian roots are a big part of her life and have a deep impact on the roles she plays. Speaking about her family and history, Shila said:

"I was born in Iran, but my family and I, we had to flee the country, as so many millions of other Iranians in exile had to, with the 1979 revolution and the government that changed and took over. I feel like to this day, there hasn't been a reckoning of the 1979 revolution, and this is a show that for me has been a healing process."

She also talked about how the show has been healing for her:

"I'm suddenly playing a character who is a woman married to a man who is an Iranian officer, and both of them believed in the revolution, which is something I don't, and both of them really felt that Iran was going to become an even better place, but it hasn't."

She continued:

"This was healing for me, to be a part of this show. At one point in the series, I wear a black chador. I never imagined I would see myself in a black chador, as I've always been very afraid of people in black chadors, but that was a healing thing to do."

With her dark past and turbulent present, Nahid is one of the most sensitive characters we see in Tehran, who has been an important part of the storyline since season one. However, Shila admitted that she is nothing like Nahid:

"Nahid as a character is someone who's very different from me. The only thing we have in common is that we use the same body, which happens to be my body."

She even described her character as vulnerable, yet powerful, something which she admitted she is not, which is why it took a tremendous amount of preparation to get into Nahid's shoes.

---

On preparing for her role in Tehran and co-starring with Glenn Close

Nahid was indeed a dynamic and complex character who went through intense character development in season 2 itself, after the trauma that she was subjected to in season one. As a result, it was a rigorous task for Shila to step into Nahid's shoes. Explaining her process, she said:

"Watching a tremendous amount of YouTube videos about women and men who have had severe PTSD and agoraphobia helped me prepare for my role. That's how I dealt with Naahid's psychological damage that had happened to her because of things that happened to her in season one... I'm very lucky that I have a creative partner, so he was able to help me craft the character of Nahid as well."

Shila's character in Tehran went through a lot of trauma in season one when her husband Faraz was shot and she was kidnapped. As a result, she was on the edge about her husband returning to work again and leaving her alone at home in season 2.

Glenn Close in Tehran (Image via Apple TV+)

Posing as a psychotherapist and promising to help her recover, undercover Mossad agent Marjan, played by Glenn Close, entered the picture. The phenomenal Glenn Close was a terrific addition to the already star-studded cast of Tehran, and Shila agrees that having her as a costar in Tehran was thrilling:

"It was really nerve-wracking to know that I'm going to be going up against this icon of an actor. But once I was on the set, acting with her, I realized she's such a consummate professional."

She continued:

"So she's a few years older than me, and to be accepting a part that that requires her to speak a whole new language and act in the summer of Athens, in a hijab, it was just no joke. She also carried such a significant amount of the weight of season two on her shoulders, and the entire time she didn't complain once. She humbled me, and I also learned from her."

Shila Vosough was really in awe of her iconic co-star, and understandably so. She further said:

"She's incredible. She's got these beautiful blue eyes that I kept wanting to just jump into swim in. I had to remind myself many times 'don't look at her, you're not supposed to like her, stop staring'.

Talking about how Close reminded her to enjoy the process, Shila said:

"She also wrote me a beautiful email after the shooting was over talking about how important it is to realise that as actors we are playing, and you're supposed to enjoy playing, which was a component of my acting that I'd forgotten about. We're creating something for the audience to enjoy. So we should enjoy it too."

---

Tehran is now streaming its first two seasons on Apple TV+. Catch the show and watch this space for more exclusive interviews with Tehran cast Shila Vosough and Shaun Toub.