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The fans can’t wait Lord of the Rings television series that debuts September 1 on Amazon Prime Video. It takes place thousands of years before the events of the series and is the most expensive TV show ever made. But who are the actors who landed the lead roles in this epic project?
Over 20 actors starred in the show’s first season, including Nazanin Boniadi, 42. Nazanin plays Bronwyn, a human mother and healer who owns a drugstore in Southland. She attracts the attention of the wood elf Arondir, played by Ismael Cruz Cordova. Nazanin has an impressive acting resume, appearing on shows such as Motherland, 24as well as Grey’s Anatomy. Find out more about Nazanin’s past acting work, as well as some fun facts about her personal life, below.
Nazanin was born in Iran.
Nazanin was born in Tehran, Iran in 1980 after the Iranian Revolution. At the age of one month, Nazanin and her parents fled Iran and moved to London as political refugees. She grew up in London and attended an independent school in Hampstead before moving to the US to attend college at the University of California, Irvine. After graduation, she studied drama at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London.
Her first acting role was in General Hospital.
Nazanin debuted as Layla Mir on Main hospital and his extra show General Hospital: Night Shift. She became the first actress to play a Middle Eastern character in the history of American daytime television. In 2008, she was nominated for an NAACP Image Award for her performance on the show.
Nazanin appeared in two episodes of the television series Fox. 24, before she joined How I Met your mother like a love interest Neil Patrick Harris‘ character. She starred in the third and fourth seasons of Showtime. Motherland and received a SAG Award nomination for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series along with its cast. Nazanin also had a recurring role as a villain on the ABC series. Scandal and appeared in one of the episodes Grey’s Anatomy.
She received critical acclaim for her performance at Hotel Mumbai.
Nazanin played British-Iranian heiress Zahra Kashani in the 2018 feature film. Hotel Mumbai, about the 2008 Mumbai attacks. She was nominated for Best Actress in a Leading Role at the 2019 AACTA Awards. The film also starred Dev Patel as well as Armie Hammer.
She is an activist.
Nazanin was a spokesman for Amnesty International USA, which works to protect human rights around the world. She focused on Iranian youth and women. Nazanin has also been involved in hunger strikes, protests, and human rights rallies over the past two decades. In 2018 Magazine People named her one of the “25 Women Changing the World”.
Nazanin used to be in Scientology.
Nazanin followed in her mother’s footsteps and became a Scientologist in the mid-2000s. She even had a brief relationship with a fellow Scientologist. Tom Cruise from 2004 to 2005. Nazanin reportedly claimed that Tom was “cruel” during their relationship and confessed to a church member about the affair. Apparently, she was punished for this, and the church allegedly imposed a curfew on her. After some time, she left the Church of Scientology.