Acting
Navid Negahban
EN, DE, FA, HE cinema · 54 credits
Born
2 June 1968 (age 58)
Birthplace
Mashhad, Iran
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
Filmography
The Marshal
as Lenny Gibbs
Clear Cut, Simple
Clear Cut, Simple
as Ismail Tahair
The Fix
as Qasim
Am Abgrund
as Tofik Gasimov
Kandahar
as Mohammad 'Mo' Doud
Batman: The Doom That Came to Gotham
as Ra's al Ghul (voice)
Tehranto
as Narrator (voice)
Dark Corners
as Karim
Aladdin
as Sultan
In Full Bloom
as The Shepherd (voice)
London Arabia
as Mo, Producer
12 Strong
as General Dostum
Saat des Terrors
as Kashif Baqri
Becoming the Enemy
as Victor Daniels
Osprey
as Adam Zakaria, Co-Producer
Damascus Cover
as Sarraj
Sand Castle
as Kadeer
Window Horses: The Poetic Persian Epiphany of Rosie Ming
as Mehran (voice)
American Assassin
as Minister Behurz
Brain on Fire
as Dr. Najjar
Carving a Life
as Dr. Kasem
Price for Freedom
as Victor Daniels
Sniper: Ghost Shooter
as Mothershed
Jimmy Vestvood: Amerikan Hero
as Mohammad Mohammad-Mohammadi
Day One
as Dr. Nasir
Baba Joon
as Itzhak
American Sniper
as Sheikh Al-Obeidi
Words and Pictures
as Rashid
The Moment
as Malik Jamil
The Power of Few
as Sahel
Atlas Shrugged: Part I
as Dr. Robert Stadler
Heal
as Abdul
Dead Air
as Abir
Powder Blue
as Doctor Brooks
Brothers
as Murad
Stellina Blue
as Amir Keshavarz
Diplomacy
2009
Diplomacy
as Iranian Foreign Minister
Liberation
as Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi
The Ambassador's Wife
as Ambassador
Djinn
as Djinn
Richard III
as Sir James Tyrrel
Murder 101: If Wishes Were Horses
as Sheik Ahmad
Broken
as Keith
Charlie Wilson's War
as Refugee Camp Translator
The Fallen Ones
as Ammon
Pretty Persuasion
as Mr. Azzouni
Saving Jessica Lynch
as Fedayeen Colonel
War Stories
as Al Qaeda Rebel at Bridge
Boundaries
as Trombonist