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